Small-scale Concentrated

Solar Power
A review of current activity and
potential to accelerate deployment
March 2013
Contents
1 Executive summary.......................... 2

2 Introduction and context ................. 3

3 Methodology ..................................... 4

4 The need for an intervention ........... 7

5 Experience to date ......................... 23

6 Conclusions .................................... 32

7 Annex A – case studies ................. 42

8 Annex B – programme details ...... 44

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the
Department of Energy and Climate Change or the Department for International Development.

Authors:

James Rawlins
Associate Director
james.rawlins@carbontrust.com

Michael Ashcroft
Strategy Analyst
michael.ashcroft@carbontrust.com
1 Executive summary
Introduction The case for CSP will vary in strength depending
upon the fuel being displaced. In certain sectors
This report investigates the potential to accelerate and countries, CSP may offer reduced benefits, for
the deployment of small-scale concentrated solar example where sustainable biomass can be used,
power (CSP) in various developing countries, with a but in many industries biomass is not a practical
focus on industrial process heat and rural on/off-grid option and CSP systems will displace expensive
applications. and carbon intensive fossil fuels, and accelerating
deployment will offer significant carbon abatement
It was undertaken by the Carbon Trust for the
and cost saving benefits.
Department of Energy and Climate Change and the
Department for International Development, to inform In addition to these benefits, using CSP to generate
the design of a possible intervention. industrial process heat offers other important
benefits, both to system users and to the host
The report sets out the need for an intervention by
country, including: increased energy security,
identifying the main barriers and market failures; it
reduced deforestation and land degradation, local
reviews relevant previous experience of
health benefits, and potential local job creation and
demonstration and deployment of small-scale CSP;
economic growth.
and it assesses delivery mechanisms for an
intervention to scale-up deployment of these CSP At present, critical barriers are holding back the
applications. deployment of small-scale CSP in both industrial
and rural / off-grid applications. These will need to
The project covered a number of low carbon
be addressed if the benefits are to be realised. The
development priority countries across three regions:
key barriers for industrial applications are low
India, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.
awareness that CSP is a potential energy source for
Within those regions, India, Kenya and Chile were
industrial process heat, lack of confidence that the
chosen for detailed research. For the purposes of
technology works in local conditions and
this research, small-scale was defined as 100kW up
applications, and payback periods that are
to 2MW, and all relevant CSP technology types
considered unattractive by potential customers. For
were included.
rural / off-grid applications the critical barrier is the
lack of an optimised and proven technology
This study was conducted from November 2012 to
solution.
January 2013 using desk-based research and
interviews with experts and stakeholders. Experts
These barriers need to be overcome now to access
from 28 organisations were interviewed, including
the full range of benefits available from deployment
technology suppliers, academic experts, NGOs, and
of small-scale CSP. Other barriers, such as low
government advisors, across 9 countries.
availability of finance, will become more important
as the markets for these applications develop.
The need for an intervention
Experience to date
There is substantial growth potential in the use of
small-scale CSP for industrial process heat, with a
These are relatively new applications and markets
potential increase in global deployment from c.
vary considerably in development state. India is the
25MW today to 63GW in 2050 – growth by a factor
world’s leading market for CSP in industrial
of 2,500 – and growth potential in Africa and Latin
applications with 70 installed systems, a range of
America of as much as a factor of 4,600 from now
domestic manufacturers and massive potential
to 2050. Small-scale CSP can be deployed in a
demand. Kenya and Chile are much less developed
wide range of potential industrial applications and
markets but both have good solar resources,
sectors.
appropriate industries and some small-scale CSP
activity. All three countries show strong national
CSP systems are generally used to complement
interest in renewable energy, but only India has put
existing industrial process heat systems, such as
in place an ambitious support programme for
coal or oil fired boilers, and reduce the consumption
of fossil fuels rather than displacing them entirely.
concentrated solar power, in the form of its National
Solar Mission.
There is a small but growing number of international
support programmes focussed on industrial CSP.
These programmes all support national policies,
and feature substantial funding from the host
governments and the private sector. In India UNDP,
UNIDO and GIZ are implementing or developing
well-resourced programmes that target or include
the scaling up of solar energy in industrial contexts;
the most relevant of these is the recently launched
UNDP programme focussed entirely on small-scale
CSP in industrial applications, which includes the
creation of 30 demonstration projects as well as
awareness raising, capital grants and capacity
building.
The picture is quite different for rural and off-grid
and on-grid applications. Energy access is a priority
for many countries and multi-lateral development
organisations, with numerous projects aimed at
improving energy access using renewable
technologies. However there are no major
programmes devoting significant attention to
applications of CSP technology in rural or off-grid
settings. We have found only two examples of pilot
or demonstration projects for small-scale CSP in
rural applications, one in India and one in Thailand.
Similarly, there is very little activity focussed on
small-scale CSP for on-grid power generation. The
vast majority of on-grid CSP projects are of much
greater capacity than the 2MW limit of this project.
Conclusions
As outlined above the critical barriers to deployment
of CSP in industrial applications are low awareness,
lack of confidence, and unattractive payback
periods. An intervention focussed on demonstration
of plants would most directly address these critical
barriers. There was a broad consensus in our
interviews that demonstration projects were needed
to stimulate demand growth in new markets.
Because there are several large (USD 20m plus)
programmes either active or planned in India
focussed on scaling up small-scale CSP, a new
intervention should focus on other developing
countries for maximum additionality.
An intervention based around a programme of
demonstration projects, operating across a group of
3-4 countries, could leverage Indian experience and
best practice and have a transformational effect on
the uptake of small-scale CSP technologies.
Significant stakeholder engagement and general
awareness raising would be required alongside the
demonstration activity.
Rural / off-grid applications are at a far earlier stage
of development, calling for a different type of
intervention. The main barrier for rural applications
is the lack of an optimised small-scale CSP
technology solution, which has led to CSP being
excluded from previous energy access projects.
This issue could be addressed through a
competition to develop an optimised technology
solution followed by field trials to prove it in real-
world conditions.
We do not see any need for an intervention in
small-scale CSP for on-grid power generation, as
on-grid applications seem better served by medium
and large-scale systems.
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 3

2 Introduction and
context
This study investigates the potential for UK
intervention to accelerate the deployment of small-
scale concentrated solar power (CSP) in various
developing countries, with a focus on industrial
process heat applications, and rural or on-grid or
off-grid power or combined heat and power
applications.

It has been carried out by the Carbon Trust on

behalf of and with input from the UK’s Department
of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the
Department for International Development (DFID). It
will feed into evidence being gathered for a possible
intervention by the International Climate Fund, a
£2.9bn fund that is managed jointly by DFID,
DECC, the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Specifically, this report sets out the need for an

intervention by:

 identifying the barriers and market failures that

are hindering demonstration and deployment,
and estimating the potential benefits that could
be unlocked by addressing them;

 reviewing and capturing the lessons learned from

existing experience of demonstration and
deployment of small-scale CSP;

 assessing delivery mechanisms for an

intervention to support and scale-up deployment
of the relevant small-scale CSP applications.

The study was conducted between November 2012

and January 2013.

To undertake this study, the Carbon Trust partnered

with Dr Christopher Sansom – CSP Team Leader
and Senior Lecturer in Ultra Precision Engineering
at Cranfield University and a specialist in small-
scale CSP technologies – to provide additional
experience and expertise specific to the industry.
We are very grateful to Dr Sansom for his
contributions.
4 Carbon Trust

3 Methodology  the existence of small-scale CSP applications or

activity;

 the degree to which national policy prioritises or

Scope has a focus on CSP;

 the presence of good market conditions,

Technology overview
including industrial sectors well suited to
Concentrated solar power covers a wide range of industrial process heat CSP;
possible scales, technologies and applications. This
 the need for off-grid energy solutions (based on
study covers:
% of the population with access to the electricity
 Only small-scale systems, defined for the grid.
purposes of this study as ranging from c. 10kW
In addition to the above metrics, we included a
up to 1-2MW energy production capacity – large-
subjective assessment of whether we felt it would
scale systems for on-grid electricity generation
be easy to identify and contact suppliers,
are excluded;
academics / experts and government officials, and
 Two different types of application – use of CSP whether they would be likely to have informed or
technology to produce industrial process heat, useful perspectives on small-scale CSP.
o
especially in the range of 200-300 C; and use of
Based on the results of this high-level analysis we
CSP in rural and on-grid or off-grid situations to
selected India, Kenya and Chile as focus countries.
produce heat, electricity or combined heat and
This was agreed with DECC and DFID following the
power (CHP);
project kick-off meeting. A summary of the high
 Any CSP technologies that can meet the level review is shown in Figure 1.
requirements above – these typically include
parabolic troughs, parabolic dishes (both flat and
curved glass) and Fresnel concentrators (see
Box 1).

Country selection

The ICF prioritises a number of countries for

potential low carbon development projects. Included
in the scope of this study are India, Mexico, Brazil,
Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi,
Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania.

Following a high level review in which all twelve

countries were profiled, three countries were
selected for detailed research. The short timescale
for the project made it impractical to research all
twelve countries to the level of detail required to
understand the critical barriers, level of current
activity and optimal potential intervention, given the
paucity of published material and need to gather
information through primary research.

The high level review profiled the countries using

the following metrics:

 good solar resource, measured by the level of

Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI);

 the presence of existing large-scale CSP projects

or activity;
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 5

Figure 1 - Summary of high level country review

Mozambique

Tanzania
Uruguay

Ethiopia

Rwanda
Mexico

Malawi
Kenya
Brazil

Chile
India

Peru
1
DNI            

Large-scale CSP
           
activity

Small-scale CSP
           
activity

Government policy
           
focus on CSP

Relevant Industries            

Off grid need 66 98 98 98 86 98 17 16 9 12 ~10 14

2
(% access to grid)            

Box 1 - Overview of solar concentrators

Non-tracking parabolic dishes focus sunlight onto

Parabolic dish – a single point in front of the dish. This example is
non tracking an array of Scheffler reflectors developed by
Wolfgang Scheffler, which uses flat mirrors.

Tracking parabolic dishes also focus sunlight onto

a single point, but track the sun as it moves across
Parabolic dish –
the sky. This example is the ARUN reflector
tracking
developed by Clique Solar in India, which also
uses flat mirrors.

A parabolic trough uses curved glass to focus

Parabolic trough sunlight along the focal line of the trough. This
example is made by Italian company Soltigua.

Fresnel reflectors use flat mirrors mounted on the

ground at varying angles to concentrate light along
Fresnel reflector
the focal line of the system. This example is made
by Soltigua.

1
National Renewable Energy Laboratory - http://www.nrel.gov/gis/mapsearch/
2
World Bank data
6 Carbon Trust

Research and analysis
This study has been conducted using desk-based
research, with data and insights gathered from
published materials and from interviews with
experts and stakeholders in various countries.
Compared to more established renewable
technologies, there is quite a limited amount of
relevant published material on CSP and the majority
of this is focussed on large-scale CSP for on-grid
electricity generation. Small-scale CSP (for any
application) is not covered in detail in many
published documents. As a result, interviewing
relevant individuals was the main research activity,
and considerable time was spent identifying and
contacting interviewees.
In total, we interviewed experts from 28
organisations, including technology suppliers,
academic experts and NGOs, and government
advisors, across 9 countries (we spoke to a number
of relevant experts or technology suppliers outside
of the three focus countries).
A summary of the distribution of interviewees is
shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 - Summary of the distribution of interviewees

India Chile Kenya Other Total

Technology 3
3 0 2 5 10
supplier

Expert 3 2 5 4 14

Government 1 2 1 0 4

Total 7 4 8 9 28

3
One of these suppliers, Kyoto Energy, manufactures concentrating PV systems for rural heat and power

4 The need for an intervention
There is substantial growth
potential in the deployment of
small-scale CSP for industrial
process heat, offering significant
benefits
 Potential growth in global deployment from c.
25MW today to 63GW in 2050 – a factor of
2,500
 Even greater growth potential in Africa and
Latin America – by as much as a factor of
4,600 by 2050
 Wide range of potential applications and
sectors. Industries currently using fossil
fuels offer the most compelling case for
deployment of CSP
 Significant benefits including climate change
mitigation, enhanced energy security and
local environmental benefits
Industrial process heat
Potential deployment
In a 2011 report on the potential for renewable
energy in industrial applications, the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
estimates that the potential for solar thermal
production of industrial process heat in 2050 is
5.6EJ. However, according to the report “only 8%
(0.5 EJ/yr) of the estimated 5.6 EJ/yr of solar
thermal energy in 2050 will require the use of CSP
technologies; the rest can be achieved using flat
4
pane collectors and evacuated tube collectors.”
This is equivalent to approximately 139 TWh of heat
output in 2050, which would require approximately
5
63 GW of installed capacity . UNIDO’s report
includes a regional breakdown of the 2050 potential
(shown in Figure 3); using the same breakdown
across regions, the potential installed capacity of
small-scale CSP for industrial process heat in 2050
is approximately 1.9 GW in Africa and 9.5 GW
4
Renewable Energy in Industrial Applications: An assessment of
the 2050 potential, UNIDO (2011). Note: “including the chemical
sector could potentially increase the contribution of solar thermal to
8EJ per year”
5
Assuming a capacity factor of 0.25 – see discussion on page 10
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 7
6
across Latin America . For comparison, in 2011 the
7
global installed capacity of PV was 70GW .
It is estimated that there are 100 small-scale CSP
8
plants currently in operation worldwide . Assuming
an average capacity of 250kW per plant (based on
case studies – see following section and Annex A),
the global deployment estimate for 2050 is a factor
of 2,500 larger than current deployment of c.
25MW.
UNIDO’s estimates of potential in 2050 equate to
7,600 250kW plants across Africa and 38,000
250kW plants across Latin America. Based on our
research we estimate that there are currently no
more than 10 installations of small-scale CSP for
industrial process heat across Africa and Latin
America, so there is potential for enormous growth
in these regions – as much as by a factor of 4,600
from now to 2050.
Figure 3 – Regional breakdown of solar thermal
9
potential for process heat in industry
OECD total
2%
3%
35% China
13%
Latin America
15%
Other Asia
32% Africa
Former Soviet Union
In a separate estimate, included in the concept note
for a programme under development in India,
UNIDO estimates that “for meeting heat
requirements in the textile finishing processes,
about 20,000 solar dishes of the ARUN-160 type
could be deployed across the industry, leading to an
6
Not including Chile, which is a member of the OECD
7
REN21 Global Status Report -
http://www.ren21.net/Portals/0/documents/Resources/GSR2012_lo
w%20res_FINAL.pdf
8
UNDP India project document
9
Adapted from Renewable Energy in Industrial Applications: An
assessment of the 2050 potential, UNIDO (2011)
8 Carbon Trust

estimated reduction in CO2 emissions of the order which gives an indication of the kinds of fuels that
10
of 2.7 million tonnes.” would be displaced.

The ARUN-160 dish can generate between 80-100 In Chile, the majority of the primary energy supply is
11
kW of thermal output , so 20,000 dishes would derived from fossil fuels, much of which is
16
equate to an installed capacity of 1.6 – 2 GW for the imported. Many other Latin American countries
textile industry in India. We do not have access to have a similar energy mix.
the assumptions underpinning either this estimate
or the estimates of 2050 global potential, so it is In Kenya, the predominant fuel is biomass, of which
hard to compare these different projections, but an as much as 57% comes from unsustainable
17
estimate of c. 2GW potential in a single sector in sources . Biomass plays a similarly important role
India (as above) is hard to reconcile with the UNIDO in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
report’s estimate of potential capacity in 2050 of c.
India is heavily reliant on coal, but much of this is
3.4GW for ‘Other Asia’ (which we assume includes
used for electricity generation.
India).
Ultimately, individual industrial sectors (and sites)
Potential applications
will use the energy sources most practical and
Most small-scale CSP systems generate heat
o affordable to them, and this may vary within single
output in the range of 150-300 C, which makes it
countries. Further research into fuel consumption in
appropriate in a wide range of industries, many of
specific industries is needed to identify the fuels
which are found in all but the least developed
most likely to be displaced and the best sectors to
countries. Some of these industries, and the
target with small-scale CSP.
temperatures required by the main processes, are
shown in Figure 6. Figure 4 - Primary energy mix of focus countries

Industrial heat applications of CSP would generally 100%

complement established forms of heat generation, 90%
such as oil or coal fired boilers, and would not
80% Renewables
replace them entirely. Industrial users would use the
70% Hydro
CSP systems to reduce their fossil fuel consumption
60% Nuclear
and to reduce their exposure to expensive fuels with
50%
volatile prices. Variable output due to varying solar Biomass
40%
irradiance, and space constraints, make it Gas
impractical to completely replace existing baseload 30%
Oil
heat generation with a CSP system. The proportion 20%
Coal
of total process heat requirement met by a CSP 10%

system will vary from site to site, but it is unlikely to 0%

12 India Chile Kenya
be much more than 30% .

The existing fuel that a small-scale CSP system Storage

may displace would also vary significantly by One of the distinctive attributes of CSP at any scale
country and by industrial process, depending on is its ability to store energy relatively efficiently and
price and availability of fuels. For example, in the cheaply. Excess energy generated by the system
Kenyan tea industry, wood is the preferred fuel for during the day can be stored in various storage
heat processes, though some factories use fuel oil media (for example molten salt, though many
due to limited availability of biomass. materials can be used including concrete) and this
heat can be used after sunset when the system is
Figure 4 shows the primary energy mix of the three
13 14 15 not capturing solar energy. In applications where
focus countries – India , Chile and Kenya –
CSP systems are used to drive chillers for air-
10
Promoting business models for increasing penetration and conditioning or other uses, storage can also be
scaling up of solar energy, UNIDO
11
Interview: Clique Solar
12
Email communication with Sopogy 16
13 IEA Chile Energy Policy Review 2009
http://www.iea.org/stats/pdf_graphs/INTPESPI.pdf
14 http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/chile20
09.pdf
http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Chile_2 17 17
012.pdf Biomass Energy use in Kenya, Practical Action -
15
http://www.reegle.info/countries/kenya-energy-profile/KE http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G02985.pdf

used to create a cold reservoir which can be drawn
upon when needed.
This attribute is a considerable advantage over
solar PV when CSP is used for electricity
generation, because a large-scale on-grid CSP
plant can use the stored thermal energy to run its
turbines and feed electricity into the grid for several
hours after sunset (in many countries this may be a
period of high demand).
While it offers potential benefits in extending the
time during which a system can provide heat,
storage is not yet a common feature of industrial
process heat applications of CSP. The degree to
which storage would be useful will vary from sector
to sector and from site to site depending on the
operating practices of individual facilities and
processes. Storage is more expensive at small-
18
scale than large scale , and the economics will
only be compelling where heat demand is high at
times when the sun is not shining (e.g. after
sunset).
As CSP systems generally complement rather than
completely replace existing baseload heat systems,
the requirement for thermal storage to meet heat
demand outside of hours of high solar irradiance is
reduced, because fossil fuel powered baseload
19
capacity can meet the demand at that time . This
applies to both temporary lulls in solar energy
received (e.g. cloudy periods) and post-sunset
operation. As storage for small-scale systems
becomes cheaper, it will become more attractive as
a means to further displace fossil fuel consumption.
While several of the leading international small-
scale CSP technology suppliers offer storage as a
potential component in their systems, it is generally
not prominently featured in their websites and case
studies / reference projects.
Benefits of deployment
Deployment of CSP to generate industrial process
heat has a number of key benefits, both to system
20
users and to the country itself :
 Climate change mitigation: CSP can offer
sizeable reductions in carbon emissions by
displacing the use of fossil fuels or unsustainably
sourced biomass. The potential energy and
carbon savings are quantified in the following
section
18
Interview: Archimede Solar & Elianto
19
Email communication with Sopogy
20
IEA CSP Roadmap 2010
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 9
 Energy security: in regions where there are
limited indigenous natural resources, fuels are
often imported at high cost. Switching to CSP
can improve energy security and reduce
pressures on international energy markets;
 On-going cost saving: over the life of a system,
the levelised cost of heat from a CSP system
could be much lower than existing fuels (e.g.
diesel or fuel oil). These cost savings can be re-
invested in growth and jobs;
 Reduced deforestation or land degradation: in
countries where CSP would displace biomass,
increased deployment of this technology could
help protect ecosystems;
 Health benefits: switching to CSP could reduce
consumption of fossil fuels or biomass, improving
local air quality and reducing adverse health
impacts;
 More reliable processes: CSP systems can
offer improved temperature control and more
reliable processes than traditional biomass
based systems, e.g. in pottery firing;
 Local job creation / economic growth: some
CSP systems can be easily manufactured locally
in developing countries (especially Scheffler
dishes which were designed to be manufactured
21
anywhere ). This technology offers greater
potential for local supply than most renewables
(e.g. PV).
Quantifying the energy and carbon benefits
There are a number of existing small-scale CSP
plants currently being demonstrated (or in
commercial operation) around the world. Details for
7 of these plants are provided as case studies in
Annex A. In general, aside from the 2MW on-grid
system operated by Sopogy in Hawaii, these vary in
size from between 100 – 300kW, supplying process
heat for industrial applications or providing space
cooling.
The demonstration projects planned by the UNDP
programme in India (see section 5) anticipate
2
15,000 m of reflector across 30 systems. Since
small-scale CSP systems in India are often of the
‘ARUN’ parabolic dish design, this equates to 500
2
m per system, or 170 – 250 kW installed capacity
per system.
21
Interview: Wolfgang Scheffler
10 Carbon Trust

Given these points of reference, we define a
‘standard’ small-scale CSP plant to be of the order
of 250kW and use this to estimate the potential
benefits.
The output of any CSP system is heavily dependent
on its capacity factor (the ratio of actual output over
a period of time (e.g. a year) to theoretical
maximum output if a system operated at full
nameplate capacity, expressed as a percentage)
which can vary significantly by region. As noted
elsewhere in this report, performance monitoring for
the small-scale CSP systems deployed around the
world has been quite weak, so there is limited data
on actual system performance. Several technology
suppliers do include actual performance data for
their reference projects which enable capacity
factors to be calculated. Figure 5 contains the
capacity factors for 8 projects around the world.
Based on these figures and other inputs including
our interviews we have used a capacity factor of
25% to model the potential output and deployment
of small-scale CSP systems.
Assuming a capacity factor of 25%, a 250kW
system without storage could generate
approximately 0.55 GWh of energy per year. If fuel
23
oil is being displaced , and assuming an efficiency
24
of 76% for fuel oil boilers , one 250 kW CSP plant
would save approximately 60,000 litres of fuel oil
and 240 tCO2 per year. If one system has an
economic lifetime of 20 years, it would save
approximately 4.8 ktCO2 in total. These figures are
very sensitive to capacity factor. To illustrate this
sensitivity, total lifetime CO2 saving ranges from 3.9
ktCO2 to 5.8ktCO2 with capacity factors of 20% and
30% respectively.
This is broadly in line with Sopogy’s 291 kW system
in Mexico (see Annex A), which has a claimed
lifetime carbon saving of 3.45 ktCO2. It is likely that
any differences are due to variations in capacity
factor around the world and the carbon intensity of
the fuel being displaced.
Expanding this to a larger scale, 30 small-scale
CSP systems at 250 kW each would save
approximately 1.8 million litres of fuel oil and 7.2
ktCO2 per year. The following section explores the
potential deployment in the Kenyan tea industry to
provide some context for these figures.

22
Figure 5 - Capacity factors of existing systems

Location Capacity (kW) Application Capacity Factor

Mexico 291 Cooling 29%
Arizona 700 Cooling 28%
Texas 219 Cooling 21%
Arizona 180 Cooling 21%
UAE 130 Cooling 20%
India 600 Process heat 16%
California 24 Cooling 15%
Japan 100 Process heat 4%

22 23
System capacity and actual output figures taken from reference With a carbon emissions factor of 3.75tCO2/t – UNDP project
project case studies available on company websites and used to document
24
calculate capacity factors Average of 72 – 80% from http://cibo.org/pubs/whitepaper1.pdf

Assessing the potential for CSP in the
Kenyan tea industry
In 2011, the tea industry in Kenya generated USD
1.09bn (KES 109bn) in export value, up 12.4% on
the previous year, while local consumption was
25
valued at USD 0.11bn (KES 1.1bn) . As one of the
largest industries in Kenya, with significant need for
process heat in the temperature range accessible to
small-scale CSP, the Kenyan tea industry is an
interesting case study and could provide valuable
insights into the deployment potential of developing
countries. Tea is one of the industries currently
being targeted by the sole supply of small-scale
CSP technology in Kenya.
The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA)
manages 55 of the largest Kenyan tea companies,
with each providing detailed financial and company
26
data to the KTDA . In 2011, 36 of these companies
mentioned rising fuel costs as a major challenge to
their business.
Many of these companies use biomass as their
primary fuel for heat. However, due to dwindling
supplies and associated increased prices, 34 of
these factories have announced plans to grow
eucalyptus trees on their own land, with the
intention of being self-reliant for sustainably sourced
biomass by 2015. Whether this is feasible given the
amount of land required to for such production to be
27
fully sustainable is not clear . At this stage it does
not seem likely that CSP would be a compelling
option for these sites.
However, 17 of the factories still rely on fuel oil, and
due to rising prices, have expressed intent to
change their primary fuel. These factories used 3.6
million litres of fuel oil in 2011, resulting in CO2 of
approximately 14 ktCO2 in 2011.
Assuming a 250kW CSP plant abates 60,000 litres
of fuel oil per year, 60 plants would be required to
displace all the fuel oil demand of these tea
factories. However, as only 30% of this demand
28
would likely be displaced by CSP , the total
amount of fuel oil that could be displaced would be
1.1 million litres, requiring approximately 18 plants.
Space and other constraints may mean that not all
of this demand can feasibly (or cost-effectively) be
25
http://www.kilimo.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic
le&id=448:-tea-industry-performance&catid=149:news&Itemid=46
26
http://www.ktdateas.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=cat
egory&id=38&Itemid=247
27
Interview: Altener
28
Email communication with Sopogy
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 11
met by CSP, but it illustrates the potential
deployment within just one industry.
Assuming other industries present similar
opportunities for deployment of CSP (many
industries would not have the land to grow biomass
for own use, increasing their potential use of CSP),
it is possible that a country like Kenya could deploy
several hundred systems across a number of
industrial sectors. Deployment of this magnitude
would place Kenya firmly among the leading
countries for small-scale CSP (indeed today, it
would make Kenya the country with most deployed
capacity). In order to achieve this, a number of
substantial barriers to deployment would need to be
overcome. These are described later in this section.
A comprehensive assessment of the potential
deployment in other industries (and countries) is
beyond the scope of this report but would be a very
valuable next step (and should be conducted as
part of the design of any intervention in Kenya or
indeed other developing countries).
Comparison with other
technologies
CSP is one of a number potential energy sources
for the generation of industrial process heat. The
most commonly used alternatives today are boilers
fuelled by coal, liquid fuels, gas or biomass.
Electricity (locally generated or taken from grid
supply) is used in certain applications. Heat pumps
can be used for lower temperatures. Waste heat
from other on-site heat-intensive processes can
also be used.
Figure 7 compares CSP to some of these
alternatives across several important metrics to
illustrate some of the advantages of using CSP over
other sources. The metrics are:
 Suitability for process heat: whether or not a
technology or energy source is suitable for the
generation of on-site process heat;
 Cost of energy: assessment of the levelised
cost of energy over the lifetime of the system,
including the cost of equipment, installation,
maintenance and fuel;
 Price volatility: assessment of how volatile the
price of the fuel source is. Oil and grid electricity
have been especially volatile in many developing
countries;
12 Carbon Trust

 Carbon intensity: assessment of the carbon

intensity of the energy derived from the fuel or
technology. Normally measured in tonnes of CO2
per unit of energy (e.g. MWh);

 24 hour availability: whether the energy output

(in this case process heat) is available on a 24
hour basis to serve constant production
processes. Boilers using fossil of biomass fuels
can be run constantly. Solar energy is limited to
daylight hours but CSP systems with storage can
produce heat for several hours after sunset;

 Scalability: an assessment of how easily a

system could be scaled up if heat demand at an
industrial facility increased significantly. Boilers
can easily be upgraded, or additional ones
added as they do require a large amount of
space. Adding to a CSP or PV system could be
constrained by available space;

 Local component supply: being able to

replace system components easily is important to
industrial users and more complex components
may need to be imported. PV panels for example
are not made in many developing countries. This
may lead to supply issues, and limits local job
creation opportunities;

 Ease of maintenance: it is advantageous for

industrial users to be able to maintain all parts of
their process heat systems. Those with complex
components may be difficult or expensive to
maintain.
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 13

Figure 6 - Industries and processes relevant to

small-scale heat from CSP

Temperature 29 30 31
Industrial sector Process o Chile India Kenya
range ( C)
Boiling 95 – 105 
Canning 60 – 120 
Drying 30 – 90 
Fish (salmon) 25 – 150 
Heat treatment 40 – 60 
Food and
Pasteurising 80 – 110 
beverages
Sterilising 140 – 150 
Sugar milling 60 – 105 
Tea/coffee 60 – 80  
Washing 20 – 46 
Wheat 40 – 80  
Metal treatment
(galvanising,
Cleaning 60 – 90 
anodising, and
painting)
Bleaching 60 – 100  
Drying and degreasing 100 - 130 
Dyeing 100 – 160  
Textile industry 
Fixing 160 – 180 
Pressing 80 – 100 
Washing 40 – 80 
Boiling 95 – 105 
Distilling 110 – 300 
Chemical industry Plastics 120 – 220 
Soap 200 – 260 
Synthetic rubber 150 – 200 
Rubber industry Vulcanisation 170 
Paper 65 – 150 
Timber
Wood pulp 120 – 170 
Mining Smelting 1260 (out of scope) ()

29
Independent research carried out by Dr C. Sansom
30
UNDP India project document – tick marks are not exhaustive of all relevant industries in India but reflect those highlighted by the UNDP
31
Independent research carried out by Dr C. Sansom
14 Carbon Trust

Figure 7 – Comparison of CSP against other

relevant energy sources for industrial process
40
heat

Grid
CSP PV Biomass Coal Fuel oil Comments
power
CSP and boilers generate heat
and are well suited to process
heat applications. Grid
Suitability for
electricity is used to generate
process heat process heat in some
applications but PV is not well
suited to heat generation
CSP is more expensive than
biomass and coal but can be
competitive against oil and grid
Cost of USD 14 USD 2.5-7 USD 16 - USD 16
USD 2 /GJ power over full lifetime. Figures
energy /GJ32 / GJ33 22 / GJ34 /GJ35
for biomass, coal and fuel oil do
not include capital cost of
boilers
Once installed, solar
technologies are not subject to
Price
fuel price volatility. Biomass
volatility price influenced by diversity of
supply
Some biomass is not
Carbon 36 116 122 109 sustainably sourced. Grid
0 0 17 kg/GJ
intensity kg/GJ37 kg/GJ38 kg/GJ39 carbon intensity depends on
grid mix
CSP with storage can produce
24 hour heat after sunset. Grid power is
availability not 100% reliable in many
countries
If site energy demand grows,
CSP and PV are less easily
Scalability
scalable than other sources due
to space constraints

Local In less developed countries

component certain PV components will
suppliers need to be imported

If PV panels develop faults it

may be difficult to repair them
Ease of
locally. Grid supply problems
maintenance can only be solved by the grid
operator

High
Medium
Low

32
Assuming that a 250kW system costs $400,000 and has a 20
year life, with 2% annual opex costs and a capacity factor of 0.25.
33
Figures for Africa; lower end is for residues, higher is for energy
crops. From UNIDO report ‘Renewable Energy in Industrial
Applications’
34
Charles Oloo, a small-scale CSP supplier in Kenya – 62-82 KES
per litre of fuel oil; UNDP India project document – 36 INR per litre.
35
Assuming 5 KES (0.06USD) per unit, after monthly charge
36
Based on Defra/DECC GHG conversion factors, assuming
system efficiency of 60-70% (from
http://cibo.org/pubs/whitepaper1.pdf). This estimate does not
include whether the biomass is sustainable or not
37
Based on Defra/DECC GHG conversion factors, assuming
system efficiency of 75-85% (from
http://cibo.org/pubs/whitepaper1.pdf)
38
Based on 3.75 tCO2/tonne from UNDP project document – India,
assuming system efficiency of 72-80% (from
http://cibo.org/pubs/whitepaper1.pdf)
39
Kenyan electricity grid intensity – based on 0.393 kgCO2/kWh -
US Department of Energy:
http://www.eia.gov/oiaf/1605/pdf/Appendix%20F_r071023.pdf
40
Dr C Sansom

Rural / off-grid applications
As outlined in the previous section, there are
various estimates of the potential deployment of
CSP technologies in industrial process applications.
In contrast, we are not aware of any estimates of
the potential deployment of small-scale CSP in rural
or off-grid applications.
There is no doubt that the market for renewable
energy technologies in rural / off-grid contexts is
huge. In 2012, nearly 1.3 billion people had no
access to electricity, and 2.6 billion had no access
41
to clean cooking facilities , many of these in ICF
priority countries. In India alone, based on
electrification data from Figure 1, as many as 540
million people lack access to electricity.
Advocates of CSP technology believe it is well
suited to meeting the energy needs of rural or
energy poor communities. In its CSP Roadmap, the
IEA states that “in countries where electrification of
households is not complete, small-scale or mid-
scale CSP plants offer co-generation of electricity
for remote or weakly interconnected grids, and
process heat for some local manufacturing”.
42
This view is echoed by some small-scale CSP
technology suppliers, for example the CEO of
German manufacturer Solarlite (partner in the
TRESERT project): “The future of CSP is not the
large-scale project of 150 MW or more but the
individual customized solution to supply energy to
43
industries and rural regions.”
For rural applications, there is particular interest in
CSP-biomass hybrid systems. The IEA’s roadmap
says: “Where DNI is good but not excellent, and
large amounts of biomass (notably animal residues)
are available for gasification, these [small or mid-
scale] CSP plants are often hybridised with biogas.
While the main driver is the availability of the
resource in Africa, Brazil, China, India and other
developing economies, these plants entail no CO2
emissions at all.” This is consistent with the fact that
both of the rural CSP pilots we identified are CSP-
biomass hybrid systems.
Box 2 below contains a view from our expert
collaborator Dr Sansom on the potential of CSP in
off-grid applications.
41
IEA World Energy Outlook 2012
42
IEA CSP Roadmap
43
http://www.evwind.es/2012/05/20/the-future-of-concentrated-
solar-power-is-the-individual-customized-solution/18613/
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 15
For reasons explored in later sections, it is not
currently considered a viable solution and the
various published reports that assess the potential
for renewable energy technologies in off-grid
settings do not cover CSP in detail.
On-grid applications
On-grid applications of small-scale CSP were also
included in the scope of this project, however our
interviews and research revealed very little activity
in small-scale on-grid power generation.
Above 2MW capacity, the vast majority of CSP
plants operating, or under construction, around the
world are for on-grid electricity generation, and
there are a number of large and well-known
corporate players focussed on this market, including
Abengoa, E.ON, Areva, and GDF Suez. A number
of countries including India, Spain, Saudi Arabia,
and South Africa have introduced or plan to
introduce incentive schemes designed to add CSP
generating capacity into their electricity portfolios.
Very few of these projects are less than 10MW in
size and a significant number are in excess of
100MW. At these scales the economics of the
plants are more attractive to project developers and
the electricity output makes a more meaningful
contribution to the grid.
The response to Spain’s CSP feed in tariff
illustrates this point. The CSP feed in tariff for CSP
included projects from 100kW up to 50MW, but of
the 50 CSP plants built in Spain, 44 are 50MW
capacity systems, and there are only 2 below 5MW.
Both of the sub 5MW systems are demonstration
projects for innovative technologies (a new tower
type and a Fresnel system), rather than standard
44
operational plants. Despite the availability of a
generous incentive available for plants as small as
1-5MW, no developers built standard (non-
demonstration) plants of this scale.
A few small-scale CSP technology suppliers do list
power generation as one of their applications.
Sopogy have a 2MW on-grid electricity generating
project in Hawaii (see case study in Annex A), but in
our interview they described themselves as
focussed on industrial heat and did not mention on-
44
http://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/by_country_detail.cfm/country=
ES
16 Carbon Trust

grid power generation at all (nor did they mention

45
the Hawaii project).

Small-scale CSP in on-grid power generation

applications could be a valuable option for mini-
grids or island grids where overall demand is limited
(and where waste heat from the CSP system could
usefully be used). In these cases a 1-2MW system
could be the right size to serve local grid demand,
with heat storage and generation after sunset
providing an additional benefit (e.g. over a PV
system).

Because on-grid CSP at small-scales is attracting

such limited interest among developers and
customers at present, it is not explored any further
in this report which focuses instead on industrial
heat and rural or off-grid applications.

45
Interview: Sopogy
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 17

From a technical perspective the solution would

be similar to the parabolic trough installation for
Box 2: Off-grid rural power industrial process heat, but I would recommend
generation using CSP - an three differences.
expert view
 Firstly, the installation would be smaller in
size and lower in power output. This is
In conducting this research, the Carbon Trust
because I would recommend lower cost
collaborated with Dr Christopher Sansom, CSP
components and manual tracking, reducing
Team Leader and Senior Lecturer in Ultra
cost.
Precision Engineering at Cranfield University.
 Secondly, the installation would have thermal
“Any intervention in off-grid power generation for
energy storage – the most significant
rural communities only makes sense in sub-
advantage that CSP has over other power
Saharan countries, and not in South America,
generation sources, namely the ability to
given the large rural population in countries such
store energy.
as Kenya which have no grid support – a
situation not found in countries such as Chile.
 Thirdly, the system would need to be
maintained and repaired by the local
Approximately 50% of the rural population in
community, so the knowledge transfer
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), i.e. 500 million
process would need to have an additional
people, are using biomass for cooking and/or
dimension. This would involve training
heating. In Kenya, only 50% of this biomass is
Kenyan academics and engineers as in the
from sustainable sources. An intervention to
case of industrial process heat, but would
replace unsustainable biomass (and kerosene)
then additionally involve a training
with small-scale CSP would have significant
programme for community-based
implications for CO2 reduction. If replicated
technicians.
across rural SSA, the impact on climate change
would be significant and positive. We should
The intervention in rural Kenya, for example,
also remember that 1.5 million people die
would involve a number of small-scale parabolic
prematurely each year from inefficient biomass trough installations in selected communities
stoves. across the country – preferably communities
with both agricultural and some small-scale
These are the communities that would benefit
industry (such as food processing or textiles).
from small-scale CSP. They only need domestic
These would be demonstrator plants for the
electrical power for lighting, charging radios and
technology, but also should be flagship
mobile phones. PV can only supply power
demonstrators for positive impacts on climate
during the day, but cannot provide the
change in rural Africa as a whole – and linked to
heating/cooling/cooking/lighting/ at the peak
national and international climate change
cooking times and at night. It doesn’t matter how
strategies.”
cheap the power from PV is, it is being
generated at the low-point in domestic demand - Dr Chris Sansom
and cannot be stored efficiently.

The basic human needs are 0.1MWh of

electricity and 1MWh of heat per year. A 500kW
CSP system in the centre of a Kenyan rural
community would provide electrical power for
schools and industry and allow charging of
batteries during the day, plus heat for industry
and thermal storage. In the evening, at night,
and in the early morning, the stored heat is
released for community or domestic cooking,
heating, and perhaps lighting as well.
18 Carbon Trust
Critical barriers are holding back
the deployment of small-scale
CSP in both industrial and rural /
off-grid applications. These will
need to be addressed if the
benefits are to be realised
 The key barriers for industrial applications
are low awareness, lack of confidence, and
unattractive payback periods
 For rural / off-grid applications the critical
barrier is the lack of an optimised and proven
technology solution
 These barriers need to be overcome now to
access the full range of benefits available
from deployment of small-scale CSP. Other
barriers, such as low availability of finance,
will become more important as the markets
for these applications develop
Critical barriers in industrial process
heat applications
There are three critical barriers that are currently
holding back deployment of small-scale CSP in
industrial applications. These need to be addressed
in the near-term to scale up this technology and
realise the available benefits. The barriers are
described as follows:
 Low awareness is a critical barrier to wider
deployment of small-scale CSP. Most
interviewees referred to the problem of low
awareness among potential customers (users of
industrial process heat), and a number of
interviewees also referred to a lack of awareness
46
among government, engineers and financiers .
These awareness issues mean that CSP is not
considered as a potential source of process heat.
 Lack of confidence is a critical barrier where
stakeholders are aware of the availability of
small-scale CSP for heat generation but are not
confident that it can operate reliably to deliver the
energy required and the predicted savings.
International examples are not sufficient to
provide confidence: potential customers require
local examples in relevant industries.
 Unattractive payback periods are a critical
barrier, especially in the Indian market, where
46
Interviews: Chilean Ministry of Energy; PSE
awareness and confidence barriers have been
partially addressed. Even though industrial CSP
systems can pay back in as little as 5 years
(including subsidy in India) this can be longer
47
than potential customers are willing to bear . In
less developed markets, this is likely to become
a more important barrier once awareness grows
and customers are confident that CSP is a viable
option from a technological point of view.
It was notable that very few interviewees mentioned
the low availability of finance as a barrier to
industrial applications of CSP. For most comparable
technologies (i.e. relatively new technologies or
applications) this is a substantial barrier, usually
addressed by dedicated or concessional loan
facilities. It is likely that this did not come up
because in most markets, this application of CSP is
so nascent that other barriers (those described
above) are more critical.
Critical barriers in rural / off-grid
applications
For rural or off-grid applications there is one pre-
eminent barrier that needs to be addressed in the
immediate term. Once addressed (and depending
upon the outcome) other barriers that are not
currently critical will become the key obstacles to
deployment of CSP in rural and off-grid contexts.
The lack of an optimised technology solution is
the most critical barrier for rural or off-grid
applications of CSP. While CSP technology has
been optimised for industrial process heat
generation, and there are an ever increasing
number of deployed systems around the world,
CSP has not been proven in rural or off-grid
contexts. It is thus not being considered in energy
access programmes where more well-known
technologies are being trialled or implemented. In a
sense, there is currently not a technology solution to
be aware of or confident in, which is why these
barriers, critical for industrial applications, are not
particularly important for rural or off-grid contexts.
Once (or perhaps ‘if’) CSP can be optimised for and
proven in rural and off-grid applications, access to
finance is likely to become a critical barrier. This is
a common barrier for renewable energy projects in
rural communities, which often have limited access
to financing to pay for the capital cost of systems. In
this case the general difficulty of accessing finance
for renewable energy projects at this scale is
47
Interviews: Clique Solar
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 19

compounded by a lack of awareness (and

48
confidence) on the part of financiers . This is not
yet a major barrier as there is no evidence of
attempts (unsuccessful or otherwise) to raise
finance for rural small-scale CSP projects.

Other barriers

Though not currently critical in preventing the

deployment of small-scale CSP in comparison with
those discussed above, there are two more barriers
that are relevant to both industrial process heat and
rural / off-grid applications, and which will become
more important once the market develops:

 Operational barriers: While some small-scale

CSP systems are designed to be as easy as
49
possible to install, operate and maintain , CSP
systems are often perceived to be more complex
to design, integrate and maintain than commonly
available alternatives, including biomass burners
and PV systems. Industrial customers are fearful
of disruption to production capacity and this
perceived complexity may combine with
unattractive payback periods to weigh against
the decision to install CSP. There are further
constraints such as space limitations – for many
customers (e.g. those located in areas where
land is highly valuable) only rooftops are suitable
for installation of CSP systems, and this can limit
the percentage of a site’s process heat energy
demand that can be met by a CSP system.
Below a certain materiality threshold, customers
may see a CSP system as worth investing time
and resources in.

 Shortage of required skills: These applications

of CSP are relatively (or very) new, so there is
not yet a large established pool of qualified
designers, installers and maintenance engineers.
If demand grows quickly then the shortage of
these skills in local supply chains may become a
constraint. Very few interviewees considered this
to be a major barrier at present, and generally
interviewees felt it would be straightforward to
overcome. One international manufacturer
designs its systems to be easy to install and
operate and not reliant on highly skilled local
50
labour.

A summary of these barriers and their relative

importance is shown in Figure 8.

48
Interviews: Camco Kenya; Abengoa Solar
49
Interview: Sopogy
50
Ibid.
20 Carbon Trust

Figure 8 - Summary of barriers identified

Industrial Rural /
Barrier Issues Comment
process heat off-grid

The lack of an optimised

Availability of The optimal technology
technology solution is the critical
optimised solution is either not proven   barrier for rural or off-grid
technologies or available locally
applications

Low level of knowledge /
Low
awareness
awareness about potential
applications of CSP
Awareness of industrial
applications is low among both
  customers and governments;
this is less of an issue for rural
applications at this stage

Lack of confidence that CSP is a

Lack of robust / comparable
viable option is a major barrier
Lack of evidence that CSP works at
confidence small-scale and in local
  for industrial applications; this is
also a barrier in rural / off-grid
conditions
uses

Even with available subsidy

Payback period considered
Long
payback
too long by potential
customers and financiers
paybacks are considered
  unattractive in India for industrial
use. This is not yet a barrier in
rural / off-grid

Access to finance will be a major

barrier for rural applications, but
Access to Limited access to capital to
finance finance installation
  is less critical until the
technology and business model
are proven

Lack of skilled and

Shortage of A second-order barrier in both
experienced technicians and
necessary
engineers to install and
  applications that could hold back
skills supply once demand grows
maintain systems

Complex system to design Integration / installation can be

Operational and install; space complex but this is not a major
complexity requirements also a
  barrier. Space constraints may
constraint limit the potential benefits

 Weak barrier

 Medium barrier

 Strong barrier


Each focus country presents
unique challenges and
opportunities
 India is the world’s leading market for CSP in
industrial applications with 70 installed
systems, a range of domestic manufacturers
and massive potential demand
 Kenya and Chile are much less developed
markets but both have good solar resources,
appropriate industries and some small-scale
CSP activity
India
The Indian market for small-scale CSP is already
the most developed in the world with 70 systems
installed, of approximately 100 worldwide. These
are predominantly parabolic dishes, with two
designs dominating the market: arrays of Scheffler
concentrators and the larger ‘ARUN’ concentrators.
According to research undertaken by UNDP,
around 50 of those systems are used to produce
steam for very high volume cooking, for example at
religious institutions. Other industrial sectors where
CSP has been deployed include dairy, baking, and
laundries.
The existing installations in India have almost
exclusively been installed by local companies,
which are able to provide systems more cheaply
than international firms (see Figure 9). The low
price points favoured by the Indian market have
made the Indian market unappealing to some
international manufacturers, despite its size. In
addition, foreign firms can find it difficult to
51
penetrate the Indian market.
The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
provides a capital subsidy worth up to 30% of the
cost of CSP systems, as part of the JNN National
Solar Mission. This is a key reason for the pre-
eminence of the Indian market and is discussed in
more detail in Section 5. During our research
several interviewees identified other reasons why
52
the Indian market is so far ahead of other markets :
 Good solar resource;
 Large demand for industrial process heat often
met by on-site consumption of fossil fuels;
51
Interviews: Abgenoa Solar; PSE; Soltigua; Sopogy, UNDP India
52
Interviews: Sopogy; IIT Mumbai; Clique Solar
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 21
 High cost of diesel;
 Well-established capabilities in the use of steam
(important for easy acceptance and integration);
 Many companies of the optimal size (where a
standard size CSP system can make a
meaningful contribution against the energy
demand, without them being over-exposed).
[UNDP India have identified a related issue:
companies with a steam requirement greater
than 5 tons per hour are likely to use less
expensive solid fuels (e.g. coal) which makes the
economics less attractive. In India there are lots
of smaller companies using liquid fuels against
which CSP can compare favourably.]
Kenya
While there are at least two suppliers of small-scale
concentrated solar energy systems (one
concentrated solar thermal, one concentrated PV)
53
in Kenya , there is no evidence of any operational
small-scale CSP systems for either industrial
process heat or for rural/off-grid applications. The
sole supplier of small-scale thermal CSP systems
was not aware of any existing systems in Kenya
and has spent several years trying to gain
acceptance for CSP in industrial applications, with
limited success so far.
Kenya has a number of industries that would have
54
potentially relevant applications, including :
 Salt processing;
 Food and beverages;
 Dairy;
 Pharmaceutical and cosmetics;
 Textiles;
 Commercial laundries;
 Steam cooking for large catering establishments.
Another potential application of industrial heat in
Kenya could be to provide cooling through
absorption chillers, in particular for the cut flower,
55
dairy and fishing industries .
53
Interviews: Altener Solar Industrial Process Energy Ltd and
Kyoto Energy
54
Altener.co.ke – products page
55
Interview: Access Energy
22 Carbon Trust
Kenya has a significant problem from deforestation,
with forest cover decreasing at 0.09% per year. In
2000 Kenya used 34 million tonnes of biomass, of
which 57% came from unsustainable supplies, and
as much as 16.5 million tonnes of biomass were
used in charcoal kilns with only 10% efficiency.
Kenya’s emissions from deforestation are estimated
56
to be c. 14m tonnes CO2 per year . Switching from
biomass to CSP in industries currently using
unsustainable supplies could reduce emissions and
deforestation.
The majority of the Kenyan population is not
connected to the grid. If the technology barrier
described above can be overcome then small-scale
CSP could be an important energy source for rural
Kenyan communities.
Chile
Chile has some of the highest direct irradiance
2
levels in the world, reaching 3100 kWh/m /year in
its northern region. As a result it has recently
become a focus for international suppliers of utility-
scale CSP – with a 360MW plant currently in
57
development – and has attracted international
finance for large-scale CSP from the Clean
Technology Fund.
Chile has few indigenous energy sources, so it
imports fossil fuels at high cost. Given the quality of
the solar resource, CSP offers attractive benefits at
both large on-grid scale and small-scale.
Chile does not have a very diversified economy and
industrial activity is concentrated in a few sectors.
Nevertheless there are some potential industrial
applications of small-scale CSP in Chile, in
58
particular in :
 Mining;
 Timber – e.g. for drying wood pulp;
 Food processing – e.g. for canning food and
smoking salmon;
 Textiles;
 Chemicals – e.g. plastics and synthetic rubbers.
56
Biomass Energy use in Kenya, Practical Action -
http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G02985.pdf
57
http://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=25
2
58
Dr Christopher Sansom, Cranfield University
Of these industries, mining facilities are often
located in regions of very high solar irradiance,
where grid electricity is not always 100% reliable.
These mining operations consume huge amounts of
electricity and process heat, and could be well
suited to CSP systems. Much of their energy
demand is 24 hour, so CSP systems with storage
could offer advantages over PV based systems.
There is currently no subsidy scheme that would be
applicable to small-scale CSP. The Chilean
electricity market is very liberalised, and the
59
government is generally unwilling to intervene .
Manufacturing is not a major sector in Chile, which
typically imports equipment rather than make it
locally. CSP systems would likely therefore need to
be imported from overseas in the short-term,
although if Scheffler dishes can be made in Kenya,
presumably they can be made in Chile as well. The
Clean Technology Fund does not anticipate local
supply chain constraints for its planned CSP
projects in Chile: its Investment Plan notes that “the
[50 MW CSP] project will source 70% of its supplies
from local firms by 2030, providing broad economic
stimulus for Chile’s low carbon development
objectives”.
60
The vast majority of Chilean population is
connected to the grid, so there is less urgency in
prioritising rural community projects. If Chile looks
to decentralise its electricity grid in the future,
however, then small-scale CSP could be an ideal
technology solution.
59
Interview: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
60
http://www.climateinvestmentfunds.org/cif/sites/climateinvestmentf
unds.org/files/Approval_by_mail_CTF_funding_for_Chile_Concentr
ated_Solar_Power_Project_PID.pdf

5 Experience to date
India, Chile and Kenya all have
deep national interest in
renewable energy, but only India
has put in place an ambitious
support programme for
concentrated solar power
 India has ambitious plans for CSP at all
scales, and is providing strong support
through the National Solar Mission
 In Chile the Clean Technology Fund is
financing CSP but there are no government
programmes supporting small-scale CSP
 The Kenyan solar market is growing, and
there is evidence that the government may be
willing to support CSP in future
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar
Mission (India)
The Government of India has ambitious plans to
accelerate the deployment of solar power in India
by 2022. Its flagship programme for enabling this is
the National Solar Mission which was launched in
January 2010.
61
Specific targets of the Mission include :
 Creating policy that will enable the deployment of
20 GW of grid connected solar power by 2022;
 Improving conditions for solar manufacturing
capability in India, particularly in the local supply
chain;
 Promoting programmes for off-grid systems,
62
deploying up to 2 GW by 2022 , and
 Achieving 20 million square metres of thermal
collectors by 2022.
 There are no specific targets for concentrated
solar thermal but there are ‘tentative’ targets of
2 2
25,000 m by 2013, 50,000 m by 2017 and
2
75,000 m by 2022. As of 2007 the total installed
61
JNN Solar Mission – “Towards Building SOLAR India”
http://www.mnre.gov.in/file-
manager/UserFiles/mission_document_JNNSM.pdf
62
The Solar Mission does not make a distinction between solar
technologies
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 23
2
area was c. 5,000 m , and UNDP estimated the
2 63
total installed area in 2012 to be 20,000 m .
The Solar Mission offers a capital subsidy for small-
scale CSP projects on the basis of collector area
installed. This provides up to 30% of the cost, and
underpins the ‘near commercial’ status of the
technology in India. Because the subsidy is based
on collector area installed, rather than system
performance, there are concerns that it is not
incentivising installation of the most appropriate or
efficient systems or technologies.
Another criticism of the subsidy scheme is that it
can be very bureaucratic, and it can take a long
time for beneficiaries to access the subsidy
64
payments. This has been partly addressed
through the creation of a Channel Partner scheme,
whereby approved manufacturers can get the
subsidy directly from the Government, which allows
them to offer a cheaper product to their customers
and save them the hassle of dealing directly with
the subsidy scheme.
Because of the Government’s commitment to solar
energy of all forms, and in particular to CSP, the
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is aware of
the potential of small-scale CSP, and is supportive
of domestic and international efforts to scale up the
deployment of this technology.
Clean Technology Fund activities in
Chile
The Clean Technology Fund (CTF) is financing a
CSP project in Chile alongside the Chilean Ministry
of Energy and the Inter-American Development
Bank (IDB), with a particular emphasis on
demonstrating a large-scale plant with thermal
65
energy storage .
This project is funded through loans and grants
from international bodies, up to a maximum of USD
450m. This will include provision for the
construction of demonstration plants, knowledge
sharing and capacity building.
63
UNDP – Market Development and Promotion of Solar
Concentrator based Process Heat Applications in India
64
Interviews with Indian suppliers
65
http://www.climateinvestmentfunds.org/cif/sites/climateinvestmentf
unds.org/files/Approval_by_mail_CTF_funding_for_Chile_Concentr
ated_Solar_Power_Project_PID.pdf
24 Carbon Trust

The CTF has also allocated USD 50m for a project  Demand for domestic PV generation could reach
demonstrating off-grid and self-supply projects. This 22 GWh per year by 2020
will have no technology or application restrictions,
so small-scale CSP applications could be  Installed capacity of solar water heating is
considered.
66 projected to nearly triple from 140,000 units to
400,000 units
Chile currently has a tax exemption scheme for
solar collectors (e.g. for residential hot water) that Kenya Climate Innovation Center
will run until 2020. It could be possible to put an
Supported by the World Bank, DANIDA, Denmark’s
incentive scheme for small-scale CSP in place in
governmental development agency and UK Aid, the
the short to medium-term, but low awareness and a
Climate Innovation Centre (CIC) aims to support the
risk averse, non-interventionist approach among
development of climate technologies relevant to
policy makers would need to be overcome first - 74
Kenya . The location of the first CIC (of a planned
these are the main barriers to implementing policies
67 network of CICs around the world) in Kenya
favourable to small-scale CSP.
indicates real interest in stimulating local innovation
Kenya in climate technologies. Small-scale CSP is well
suited to exactly this sort of local innovation.
There appears to be a general lack of awareness
and policy support for small-scale CSP in the The CIC provides advisory services, financing and
Kenyan government – other renewables, especially facilities to help incubate Kenyan start-ups. Both
geothermal power, are currently receiving far more Kenyan suppliers interviewed were aware of and
68
attention and support . There are currently feed in involved in CIC activities.
tariffs for small-scale (sub 10 MW) renewables
including solar, covering both PV and solar thermal Industrial applications of CSP are
69
and concentrated solar thermal , but these are for becoming the focus of
electricity generation only. There is no subsidy for international support
CSP in process heat applications. programmes. India has several
However, we have learned from interviews that the well-resourced programmes
Kenyan Government is becoming aware of the being implemented or developed
potential for CSP, and are open to supporting
70
renewables in general . There is very little  UNDP, UNIDO and GIZ are implementing or
regulatory burden for setting up new projects in developing well-resourced programmes that
Kenya, which significantly reduces the resources target or include the scaling up of solar
required to complete the planning and approval energy in industrial contexts
process, and could make Kenya attractive for an
71
intervention .  The most relevant is the recently launched
UNDP programme focussed entirely on small-
Given the policy environment, small-scale CSP scale CSP in industrial applications in India
could potentially be incorporated into existing
support mechanisms, including the feed-in tariff (for  UNIDO are also developing a comprehensive
72
electricity generation) . small-scale CSP and energy efficiency
programme in Malaysia
Kenyan demand for solar products is also projected
73
to grow significantly in the coming years :  These programmes all support national
policies, and feature substantial funding from
the host governments and the private sector
66
Interview: Chilean Ministry of Energy
67
Interviews: Chilean Ministry of Energy; Pontificia Universidad When we asked the project manager of the UNDP
Catolica de Chile India project (described below) what projects they
68
Interview with African Energy Policy Research Network
69
Feed in Tariff policy, Dec 2012. had been able to refer to and learn from in
http://www.erc.go.ke/erc/fitpolicy.pdf designing their project, he replied that they had not
70
Interview: Kenyan Government
71
Interview: Kyoto Energy been able to find any other examples of
72
Interview: Kenyan Government
73 comprehensive small-scale CSP projects as
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/envir_e/wksp_goods_sept09_e
74
/ikiara_e.pdf http://kenyacic.org/

75
references. Since they began that process a
number of other programmes have either been
launched or are under development, but there are
still only a very limited number of relevant
programmes around the world.
UNDP India
The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) is running a programme in India, in
partnership with the Global Environment Facility
(GEF) and the Indian Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE). This programme,
which runs from January 2012 until July 2016, aims
to help to scale-up deployment of CSP systems for
industrial applications.
The project has a total budget of USD 23.75m
which comes from a range of organisations:
 GEF – USD 4.4m
 MNRE – USD 6m grant subsidy, USD 1.35m in
kind
 Industries – USD 6m in cash
 Financial institutions – USD 6m
76
Its key activities would include :
 Supporting the deployment of 30 demonstration
2
plants (15,000 m of collector area), and a further
2
60 replication plants (30,000 m of collector
77
area).
 Providing an additional subsidy of up to 10% of
costs (on top of the subsidy provided by the
Solar Mission) and then raising awareness,
promoting knowledge sharing, capacity building
and setting of standards.
 Encouraging foreign suppliers to move into the
Indian market to provide a broader diversity of
technologies. Currently, the only small-scale
CSP technologies widely available in India are of
the domestic Scheffler or ARUN designs.
However, the UNDP note that this aim may be in
conflict with the Indian Government, which
78
appears to favour Indian companies .
75
Interview: UNDP
76
More detail is available in Annex B
77
UNDP – Market Development and Promotion of Solar
Concentrator based Process Heat Applications in India
78
Interview: UNDP
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 25
 Building capacity and developing skills by
providing 25 university fellowships and PhDs for
researchers.
These activities aim to bring down the payback time
enough for potential users to invest. According to
the UNDP the current payback time for industrial
process CSP systems without any subsidy is nine
years. With the Solar Mission subsidy this comes
down to six years, and with the additional support
from this programme, the payback time falls to five
years. Beyond this, the UNDP believe that payback
time needs to fall to three years in order to be
commercially viable and competitive with other
technologies.
79
UNIDO/GEF India
Where the UNDP India project focuses specifically
on solar thermal power for industrial heat
applications, there are other internationally funded
programmes that aim to scale up the solar market in
general.
The United Nationals Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO) is developing a concept for a
project working with GEF, MNRE and the Indian
Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)
to promote business models to increase penetration
80
and scaling-up of solar energy .
The project concept note states that it is designed
to support the National Solar Mission and the
National Action Plan on Climate Change.
The project is planned to run for five years, and has
a budget of approximately USD 22m from various
funders, including:
 GEF – USD 75k grant, USD 75k in kind
 MNRE and the Ministry of Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME) – USD 5.9m grant/in kind
 IREDA through the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) – USD 10m loan
 Undefined private investors – USD 5.8m cash/in
kind
79
Ibid.
80
http://www.thegef.org/gef/sites/thegef.org/files/gef_prj_docs/GEFPr
ojectDocuments/Climate%20Change/India%20-%20(4788)%20-
%20Promoting%20Business%20Models%20for%20Increasing%20
Penetrati/PIF%20India%20Solar%20v6.0_for%20re-
submission%20to%20GEF%205Jan12%20FINAL.pdf
26 Carbon Trust
81
Its key activities would include :
 Developing a set of recommendations and
guidelines for policy makers to catalyse
deployment of solar technology in industrial
thermal and cooling applications;
 Providing detailed technical specifications,
technology application information packages and
between 15-25 pilot projects to demonstrate the
technical and financial viability of projects, and to
enhance local manufacturing capacity;
 Scaling up industrial applications through
replication by identifying suitable technologies,
developing business models and financial
support mechanisms, and by developing
standards and quality control frameworks;
 Raising awareness and building capacity through
training, workshops, institutional knowledge
sharing, documentation, and industry-academic
partnerships.
There is potentially some overlap between the
UNDP and UNIDO projects in India. The UNIDO
project will include cooling applications which are
not covered by the UNDP project, and UNIDO
normally focus on the larger industrial sectors
where UNDP typically focuses on less industrial
sectors. The leadership and co-ordination role
played by MNRE will be important in ensuring that
these and other projects in India are
82
complementary.
UNIDO/GEF Malaysia
UNIDO and GEF are also developing a project in
Malaysia, currently at the concept stage, which
aims to promote and demonstrate sector specific
energy efficiency improvements and solar thermal
83
technology in industry .
The project is planned to run for five years with a
budget of USD 20m, from various sources:
 GEF – USD 60k grant
81
Ibid.
82
Interview: UNDP
83
http://www.thegef.org/gef/sites/thegef.org/files/gef_prj_docs/GEFPr
ojectDocuments/Climate%20Change/Malaysia%20-
%20(4878)%20-
%20GHG%20Emissions%20Reductions%20In%20Targeted%20In
dustrial%20Su/4-11-
12%20%20ID4878%20%20PIF%20GEF5%20on%20EE%20and%
20Solar%20Energy%20Revised%20after%20GEFSec%20Comme
nts%2010%20Apr2012x.pdf
 Malaysian Government – USD 2.44m in kind
 Undefined private sector – USD 17.4m grant/in
kind
 Other financials – USD 100k
84
The project will have three main components :
 Strengthening institutional capacity and
knowledge sharing; monitoring and evaluating
the impact of previous and existing policies and
programmes, and the provision of support
mechanisms (incentives, technical assistance,
certification and financing);
 Raising awareness and capacity building, by
strengthening the skills and competency of
service providers, consultants and industry, as
well as raising awareness among industry
management and financial institutions;
 Demonstration and scaling up of sector specific
energy efficiency and solar thermal systems in
specific industrial subsectors. This includes
support for energy efficiency measures in 40
factories, of which ten will implement solar
thermal demonstration projects.
ComSolar
The German Organisation for International Co-
operation (GIZ) and MNRE are currently
implementing a project “Commercialisation of Solar
Energy in Urban and Industrial Areas” (ComSolar),
which aims to develop and demonstrate innovative
business models for solar energy applications in
urban and industrial sectors / areas85 ComSolar
comes under the International Climate Initiative (ICI)
of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment,
Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).
86
Its activities include :
 Urban and industrial pilot projects to demonstrate
technical and financial feasibility;
 Technology transfer through Public-Private
Partnerships;
 Monitoring of projects and dissemination of
leanings to raise awareness;
 Capacity building;
84
Ibid.
85
http://www.comsolar.in/
86
Ibid

 Strategies to encourage replication.
In 2011 ComSolar commissioned and published a
study to identify promising industrial sectors for
solar technologies. The study analysed industrial
sectors on various dimensions including their
overall energy consumption; their heating and
cooling requirement; and their previous solar
experience. The study was conducted by PwC India
and found that:
“The most promising sectors were identified as -
Textile (Finishing), Pulp & Paper, Food Processing,
Pharmaceuticals, and Electroplating / Galvanizing) -
suggesting the use of primarily solar thermal
technologies for various applications which are
commercially attractive in terms of internal rate of
returns (IRR) and payback-times. The commercial
viability of solar technologies is much higher for
industries using fuels sources such as furnace oil,
87
coke or diesel.”
The only global activity focussed
on small-scale industrial CSP is
an IEA knowledge sharing
programme
 The IEA’s Solar Heating and Cooling
Programme aims to raise awareness and
connect researchers from relevant projects
around the world
 There are no global or multi-country
programmes with dedicated funding for
technology demonstration or awareness
raising
IEA-SHC Tasks 33 and 49
The IEA Solar Heating and Cooling (SHC)
programme runs a number of subtasks, including
Tasks 33 – Solar Heat for Industrial Process – and
49 – Solar Heat Integration in Industrial Processes
– which are relevant to industrial process heat
applications of CSP technology.
Though the programme is affiliated with the IEA, it
receives no direct funding from the IEA and instead
acts to encourage knowledge sharing and
87
http://www.comsolar.in/images/PDF/Identification%20of%20Industr
ial%20Sectors%20Promising%20for%20Commercialisation%20of
%20Solar%20Energy_ComSolar_GIZ.pdf
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 27
dissemination between existing projects and
88
resources.
The scope of Task 33 – which ran from 2003 to
o
2007 – was industrial heat up to 250 C, with no
limits on technology or heat transfer medium
(though it did not include concentrating systems due
to the low temperature range). Task 33 focused on
EU countries.
Its activities included four areas of focus:
 Solar process heat survey and dissemination of
task results
 Investigation of industrial energy systems
 Collectors and components
 System integration and demonstration
Task 49 is more relevant to the scope of this project
because the temperature range in scope extends
o
up to 400 C, meaning that CSP technologies are
included. The relevant sub-objectives of Task 49,
89
which runs from 2012 to 2015, are to :
 Identify new applications for solar thermal energy
in several production processes through the
combination of process intensification
technologies;
 Develop planning tools, calculation tools for solar
yields in large scale plants;
 Install and monitor large-scale demonstration
systems;
 Develop guidelines for solar process heat;
 Lower the barriers for market deployment.
Task 49 has participants from across the EU, as
well as a number of other countries including the
US, Australia, China, India and Mexico. Participants
are mostly research institutes (such as the
Fraunhofer Institute in Germany), but solar
90
technology companies are also involved.
Beyond the IEA’s SHC programme we are not
aware of any other global or multi-country
programmes that are focussed on small-scale CSP.
88
Interview: IEA SHC Task 49
89
http://task49.iea-shc.org/objectives
90
Interview: IEA SHC Task 49
28 Carbon Trust
There are no large-scale
programmes focussed on small-
scale CSP for rural or off-grid
applications
 Energy access is a priority for many
countries and multi-lateral development
organisations, and there are numerous
projects aimed at improving energy access
using renewable technologies
 While many of these programmes are
technology neutral, none have devoted
significant attention to applications of CSP
technology, so we have not profiled them
 We have found two examples of pilot or
demonstration projects for small-scale CSP
in rural applications. Both are CSP-biomass
hybrids
Pilot CSP-biomass hybrid plant in India
91
Indian technology firm Thermax have piloted a
256kW electrical CSP and biomass hybrid plant in
Shive village, near Pune, India. The system is off-
o
grid, produces heat at up to 220 C and has thermal
storage capacity. The biomass boiler uses local
agricultural waste and is used as a backup at times
when there is cloud cover .
92
The project was partially funded by the Department
of Science and Technology (DST) under the Public-
Private-Community Partnership model and was
commissioned in December 2011.
On the project, Thermax have worked with several
national technology institutes including IIT Mumbai
and IIT Madras to develop the technology, including
using the pilot as a testing site for new and
improved component designs. DST intends that the
performance data generated at this site can be
used to assess the viability of setting up similar
93
plants in other off-grid communities.
Despite having support and involvement from the
Government, Thermax faced a number of barriers in
setting up this project which might hinder future off-
grid CSP projects in India. The main barriers were:
 Navigating the approvals process;
91
http://thermaxindia.com/Solar-Power-Business-Solutions.aspx
92
http://www.eai.in/reaction2012/solar-csp-and-solar-thermal/solar-
biomass-distributed-power-generation-project-mr-venkat-
subramaniam-thermax/
93
http://www.dst.gov.in/about_us/ar11-12/PDF/ch4-Solar.pdf
 Financing the project, despite a government
capital subsidy of up to 90% for rural
electrification projects;
 A lack of experience in solar and biomass hybrid
projects made operation and management
challenging.
94
TRESERT, Thailand
TRESERT is a combined solar thermal energy-
biomass power plant for electricity, refrigeration and
heat generation, located in the energy park of
Naresuan University in Thailand. The plant
produces 500kW of thermal outputs, and up to
50kW of electrical output.
The TRESERT project ran from 2008 to 2012. Its
objective was to demonstrate an innovative
technology for the decentralised provision of
electrical energy, heat and air conditioning from
solar energy and biomass and to introduce it to
potential cooperation partners in the region of
95
Southeast Asia .
TRESERT is a partnership between the Institute for
Solar Research at the German Aerospace Center
and the School of Renewable Energy Technology at
Naresuan University.
Other relevant experience
 Sopogy have a 291kW parabolic trough system
installed in Hermosillo, Mexico. This system
drives a chiller to provide air conditioning to a
cement plant operated by Holcim Apasco .
96
 Aora energy have piloted an innovative small-
scale hybrid solar tower system in Samar, Israel.
The modular system can also generate electricity
which can be solar to the grid.
97
 The EU is funding research in CSP for industrial
process heat, for example the InSun research
th
project which is being co-funded through the 7
98
Framework Programme.
There is a more extensive range of case studies
available in Annex A.
94
http://www.powermin.nic.in/bharatnirman/bharatnirman.asp
95
http://www.solarlite.de/en/project_phitsanulok.cfm
96
http://sopogy.com/projects/index.php?id=56
97
http://aora-solar.com/active-sites/
98
http://www.fp7-insun.eu/
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 29

Cost of small-scale CSP systems
for industrial process heat
As part of the interview process, we asked
technology suppliers to estimate the cost of a
500kW thermal system using their technology.
Capital cost varies by technology, manufacturer
location and complexity. The cost range for the
99
different technologies was as follows :
 Parabolic trough: 1,300-2,000 USD per kW
 Parabolic dish: 650-900 USD per kW
 Scheffler dish: 900-1,900 USD per kW
On-going operation and management costs were
given as an annual percentage of capital costs, and
tend to range from 1 – 5%.
The UNDP have also conducted a review of costs
for small-scale CSP systems, the results of which
are shown in Figure 9, and are broadly in line with
the results of the interviews.
Note that cost estimates tend not to include thermal
storage, as relatively few suppliers include storage
in their systems due to the additional complexity;
however one estimate put the cost of a system with
100
storage at $9000 .
Our interviews suggested that for a standard
system, 50-70% of the total cost is accounted for by
the solar field equipment, with the remainder being
installation and integration cost.
There are a range of project outputs that could be
monitored to allow robust performance monitoring
and analysis, including:
 energy performance data (e.g. steam production
or electricity output)
 energy usage data from the industrial plant,
including staff behaviours;
 local environmental data, e.g. DNI or wind
speed;
 system downtime, including the reason (e.g. fault
or scheduled maintenance);
 on-going costs and resource needs (including
staffing and specialist assistance, e.g. for
repairs)
 any unexpected obstacles arising during the
system installation process;
Measuring the thermal and electrical output of CSP
systems is not complicated and can be done using
101
widely available measurement equipment.
Given the relatively already high capital cost of CSP
systems, monitoring equipment would need to be
low-cost and easy to integrate. An example of this is
the 3G enabled BitHarvester monitor being
developed by Access Energy for use in off-grid
102
systems in Kenya . Such devices could feasibly
allow for remote operation of systems, reducing the
need for on-site staff.

Monitoring and performance data

One of the reasons low confidence remains a
substantial barrier in India, despite an installed base
of 70 systems, is that there has been very little
performance monitoring of the installed systems, so
there is a shortage of robust evidence about how
different systems have performed in different
settings and conditions.

This gap has been recognised by the UNDP project,

which aims to build an evidence base of
performance data, collected from both specific
technology assessments and also from the
demonstration systems that the project will fund.

99 101
Interviews with technology suppliers Source: C. Sansom
100 102
Interview Interview: Access Energy
30 Carbon Trust

Figure 9- UNDP India cost estimates of small-

scale CSP systems

Collector temperature Specific thermal

Cost (USD/m2) Cost (USD/kW)
(oC) power (kW/m2)
Compound Parabolic 130 (China) 200 – 220
Concentrator (CPC) 90 – 130 0.60 – 0.65
vacuum tube 450 – 900 (Europe) 690 – 1500
Parabolic dish with
fixed focus (e.g. 100 – 150 0.21 – 0.31 250 – 300 (India) 800 - 1430
Scheffler)
Parabolic dish with
moving focus (e.g. 150 – 250 0.34 – 0.50 500 – 600 (India) 1000 - 1760
ARUN)

Parabolic trough 120 – 250 0.50 – 0.56 650 (Europe) 1160 – 1300

Linear Fresnel 100 - 200 0.50 – 0.56 650 – 900 (Europe) 1160 – 1800
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 31

Skills and training
Small-scale CSP, in either industrial or rural
applications, is a new technology with limited
deployment today but substantial potential for
growth. If the critical barriers described in Section 4
are addressed, there could be rapid growth in
demand for these technologies. In order to service
that demand, the supply chain – including
designers, engineers and installers as well as
technology manufacturers - will need to grow and
each country with substantial CSP demand will
need a local workforce with the required skills.
We asked our interviewees whether they felt that
the supply of an appropriately skilled workforce was
likely to be a major constraint. There was less of a
consensus on this question than on other areas
(e.g. there was a fairly high degree of commonality
to the answers about critical barriers).
Some interviewees did feel that a shortage of the
right skills could be a barrier, and that training is an
important activity. Specific viewpoints included the
following:
programme, UNIDO India and UNIDO Malaysia all
include training, in the case of India this may be
because the markets is more advanced, whereas in
other markets other more critical barriers need to be
addressed before skill shortages could be become
a critical issue. The UNDP India project is providing
25 university fellowships and PhD positions to
108
promote research into small-scale CSP.
In general, the prevailing view from interviews was
that it is too soon to be promoting training, before
there is widespread awareness of small-scale CSP
technologies. Once there is more awareness and
market demand, local specialists would use their
existing skills to move into the sector, however at
this point targetted training programmes could be
valuable

 Training is important but should be provided as

103
part of a wider demonstration programme;

 Research productivity in CSP is very low (in

Chile) – there are very few university research
104
groups looking at the area;

A number of interviewees, on the other hand, felt

that training and skills were not critical issues for the
growth of the small-scale CSP market. Specific
viewpoints included:

 The maintenance of a small-scale CSP system

105
does not require advanced skills;

 Some systems are designed to not be reliant on

106
local skills, even at the installation stage;

 It is too soon to think about training – instead the

focus should be on raising awareness. Similarly,
a lack of market demand for skills might result in
trained technicians finding jobs in other sectors,
107
so demand must lead training provision.

There are already several planned training activities

focussed on capacity building and skills
development in small-scale CSP. The UNDP India

103
Interview: Soltigua
104
Interview: Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile
105
Interview: PSE
106
Interview: Sopogy
107 108
Interview: PSE; Practical Action Interview: UNDP India
32 Carbon Trust
6 Conclusions
An intervention focussed on
demonstration of plants would
most directly address the critical
barriers to the deployment of
small-scale CSP in industrial
process heat applications in
developing countries
 Markets outside of India are very nascent and
the main barriers to address are low
awareness, lack of confidence, and
unattractive payback periods
 The most relevant programmes are new and
have not yet yielded useful lessons
 All the major programmes studied are
comprised of a package of activities,
addressing multiple barriers, with
demonstration at their core
 Because there are several large (USD 20m
plus) programmes either active or planned in
India focussed on scaling up small-scale
CSP, a new intervention should focus on
other developing countries for maximum
additionality
 An intervention focussed on demonstration
projects, operating across a group of 3-4
countries could leverage Indian experience
and best practice and have a transformational
effect on the uptake of small-scale CSP
technologies
Market development
As described in section 4 the Indian market is
considerably more developed than other developing
countries. The main barriers are common across
the countries, but are likely to vary in relative
importance.
In India, for example, unappealing payback periods
are a critical challenge. In less developed markets
awareness and confidence may be more critical
barriers, as potential customers are unlikely to be
put off by payback periods until they are aware of
the relevance of small-scale CSP systems to their
business.
Key barriers to address
Small-scale CSP for industrial process applications
is at a very early stage in all developing countries
outside India.
As detailed in section 4 the key barriers to address
are:
 Low awareness among potential customers,
designers and engineers, and government
ministries;
 Lack of confidence that CSP systems will offer a
reliable source of energy in the relevant country
and industry contexts;
 Unattractive payback periods (especially in the
absence of government subsidies or grants).
Summary of lessons learned from
previous experience
The most relevant programmes are those focussed
on scaling up small-scale CSP in India and
Malaysia, as described in Section 5. Of the three
comprehensive programmes (UNDP India, UNIDO
India and UNIDO Malaysia) only the UNDP India
programme has commenced, formally launching in
May 2012. The other two are still at the concept or
pre-approval stages.
While these programmes may not yet provide useful
lessons learned during implementation, they are the
result of in-depth studies of the Indian and
Malaysian markets and their design can offer
valuable insights.
All three programmes are comprised of a package
of activities, together addressing multiple barriers.
Figure 10 shows which activities are included in
these programmes. Awareness raising,
demonstration projects, and capacity building are
included in all three projects, and all seek to reduce
the payback period by offering capital grants. In the
case of the Indian programmes these grants
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 33

Figure 10 - Summary of existing programmes

UNDP UNIDO / Com UNIDO / IEA –

/GEF GEF Solar GEF SHC
India India India Malaysia Task 49

Innovator support  ()

Knowledge sharing    

Awareness raising     

Demonstration     ()

Capacity building/training    

Capital grant/subsidy   

Finance/soft loans

Standards and certification    

complement the subsidy available under the
National Solar Mission.
It is worth noting that these are substantial, five-
year programmes that have the resources to tackle
a number of barriers, and the time to schedule
these activities as appropriate. We assume that an
ICF funded programme would need to be largely
complete by March 2015 and thus it may be
advisable to focus on a smaller set of the most
critical barriers.
The two large Indian projects both feature
significant involvement and funding from the Indian
government. Strong government support is highly
likely to increase the chances of overall project
success, and lack of support can make projects
challenging to implement. Both these projects
specifically refer to support of the National Solar
Mission in their objectives. Linking project outcomes
to existing government priorities and policies will
help bolster local support for international projects.
Possible interventions
The barriers faced by small-scale CSP in industrial
process applications are common to many other
new technology solutions and can be overcome by
a number of interventions.
Figure 11 lists a selection of relevant interventions,
along with a few example activities, and an
explanation of why this intervention could be
relevant in this case. This is not an exhaustive list of
all possible interventions, but a ‘menu’ of the
interventions considered most relevant during this
project, based on our research into market status
and main barriers faced.
Each of these interventions directly addresses one
or more barriers hindering the deployment of small-
scale CSP in industrial applications, and several
also indirectly or partially address other barriers. For
example capital grants directly address the payback
barrier by reducing the initial investment outlay
required (and thus the payback), and may also
address the access to finance barrier by making it
easier to obtain finance (either because less is
required in total, or because a grant is evidence of
government or industry confidence).
Figure 12 aligns the interventions listed in Figure 11
with the barriers listed in Section 4, showing which
barriers are directly and indirectly or partially
addressed by which interventions. The critical
barriers of awareness, confidence and payback are
highlighted.
34 Carbon Trust

Figure 11 - Summary of potential interventions

Intervention Example activities Rationale for consideration

Innovator Prize funding; Single entity grants; To stimulate innovation activity to identify and develop the
support R&D grant calls; Incubation activities right technologies and business models

Knowledge
Network creation; conferences To share and maximise learnings from projects
sharing

Awareness
Campaigns; events To raise awareness of the potential of small-scale CSP
raising

Pilot projects; case studies; test To build confidence among customers, governments and
Demonstration
centres financiers that the technology works in diverse applications

Creation of training courses;

To develop the necessary skills in the supply chain and
Capacity building university courses and fellowships;
associated workforce (designers, technicians, engineers)
sponsorship

Finance Soft loans To improve access to finance for projects

Capital grants Grants; subsidies To reduce initial investment costs and improve paybacks

Standards & Developing standards; certification;

To build confidence and trust in the marketplace
certification accreditation; verification

Figure 12 - Possible interventions and barriers addressed

Access
Technology Awareness Confidence Payback to Skills Operational
finance

Innovator
   
support

Knowledge
   
sharing

Awareness
 
raising

Demonstration      

Capacity
  
building

Finance 

Capital grants  

Standards and
 
certification

= =
Key
directly Indirectly / partially
barrier
addresses addresses

As the table shows, each of the critical barriers is
addressed by a different activity or intervention:
 Low awareness is addressed by awareness-
raising activity such as media campaigns, case
study dissemination, and events
 Lack of confidence that the technology works is
addressed by demonstration projects and pilots
proving that small-scale CSP is a viable solution
in relevant industrial contexts
 Unattractive payback periods can be reduced
by capital grants or subsidies (and over time, by
cost reduction through innovation or economies
of scale)
Based on our research and specific input from
technology suppliers in both developed and
developing countries, these three activities are felt
to be most appropriate in order to support and
accelerate the deployment of small-scale CSP for
industrial applications. In particular, demonstration
projects were felt to be the single most needed
intervention in the relevant markets.
Lack of confidence in the technology, or in specific
systems can also be addressed by standards and
certification. This is likely to arise when market
demand has been successfully stimulated and new
suppliers enter the market, not all of which will meet
best practice standards. However, this is not a
critical activity in most countries due to the very
nascent state of the market and supply chain.
Country selection: building on activity
in India
As outlined above, India is the leading global
market for small-scale CSP in industrial
applications, with c. 70 out of c. 100 systems
deployed. The Indian market is substantially more
advanced than any of the other countries in-scope,
and as described in Section 5, has several large-
scale and comprehensive programmes focussed on
small-scale CSP for industry.
Our initial hypothesis at the start of this project was
that India would be a good place to focus an ICF
funded intervention because of its status as a
leading market, but one with huge potential for
growth. At that stage we were not aware of the
existence of the specific programmes being
implemented or planned by agencies such as
UNDP and UNIDO.
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 35
The presence of several large, comprehensive
programmes makes it harder to be additional in the
Indian market – an important consideration for the
ICF. The programme manager of the UNDP project
felt that there was room in India for additional
projects – especially any that could help address
the core challenge of reducing payback of CSP
systems from 5 to 3 years – but as these projects
are in their initial stages or are yet to launch, it is
difficult to be sure of what additional project
109
activities would be most complementary .
The planned projects are focussed on driving
demand for CSP in industry in India and in enabling
that demand to grow. Once demand has been
successfully stimulated there may be supply chain
challenges that can slow growth or undermine
confidence in the technology:
 New, lower quality technologies may enter the
market
 Poor installation by some installers can
undermine confidence in the systems
 Manufacturing may be not right-sized to the new,
bigger market, meaning economies of scale are
not exploited and costs remain high
A number of these issues were encountered in the
UK in the biomass heat market (a proven
technology with mature markets in regions such as
Austria and Scandinavia). As a result the Carbon
Trust designed the Biomass Heat Accelerator
110
programme to address these issues . This
programme is summarised in Box 3.
Our conclusion is that while there may be potential
to design a programme in India that complements
or builds on the existing (and planned) activity in
India, at this stage it would be hard to ensure
additionality or that a programme would have
transformational impact beyond what is already
happening.
Country selection: targeting other
developing countries
As outlined above, other developing countries lag
India considerably in market development.
109
Interview: UNDP
110
http://www.carbontrust.com/media/147632/ctc809-biomass-
heat-accelerator-overview.pdf
36 Carbon Trust
These markets have considerable potential
because of the wide applicability of small-scale CSP
in industry – most countries have (or are
developing) the industries that need process heat in
the temperature range served by small-scale CSP.
In many cases these industries are currently served
by unsustainable energy sources such as
expensive, imported liquid fuels, coal or
unsustainably sourced biomass.
An intervention focussed on these countries would
be highly additional, because there are no
programmes of which we (or our interviewees) are
aware that are focussed on supporting the
deployment of small-scale CSP in any application or
context (industrial or rural / off-grid).
Any new intervention could be designed to learn
from and leverage the experience and best practice
being developed in India, both through the
international programmes and in the wider
marketplace.
The in-scope countries (excluding India) fall into two
broad categories in terms of market development:
 Those countries where there is evidence of some
small-scale CSP activity, either in the form or
existing or planned pilot or demonstration
projects, or in the form of active domestic
suppliers raising awareness and trying to sell
systems to industrial customers. This group
includes Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Kenya.
 Those countries where there is no evidence of
any specific activity focussed on small-scale CSP
and no evidence of any domestic supply base.
These countries have varied market and solar
resource conditions. This group includes
Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique,
Rwanda, Peru, and Uruguay.
Box 3 – Case study: Carbon Trust
Biomass Heat Accelerator
The Biomass Heat Accelerator (BHA) was a Carbon
Trust technology transfer programme that set out to
identify and stimulate the potential market for
Biomass Heat - a proven technology already with
mature markets in other countries such as Austria
an Scandinavia - to the UK
By working to support and stimulate both the market
and the supply chain at the same time, BHA
partially de-risked the expansion of biomass heat in
the UK
The following activities made up the Accelerator:
 Workstream 1: Data gathering and
benchmarking – investigating existing biomass
installations: costs, common operational and
engineering issues.
 Workstream 2: Installers’ cost-base reduction
interventions – engaging with the supply chain
and installers to increase capacity and reduce
cost.
 Workstream 3: Refining of market potential
and demonstration of best practice – Finding
most promising sites, following through
development process on a number of sites,
analysing cost.
 Workstream 4: Fuel supply-chain activities –
Preparation of a suite of guides and tools to
assist in fuel procurement.
 Worksteam 5: Knowledge transfer – Sharing
best practice, producing a set of guides, case
studies, tools and templates.

Focussing on 3-4 countries
Creating a new intervention in a single country in
either of these categories would be relatively high
risk, because at this stage not enough is known
about the market potential (both demand and
supply), critical barriers, and likely level of
government support in the potential countries.
Currently unseen factors affecting any of these
could make achievement of an intervention’s
objectives difficult.
Because of this we suggest that the intervention
cover a group of 3-4 countries. Focussing on many
more than this would risk the intervention becoming
difficult to manage, and funds would be spread too
thinly to achieve the desired impact.
To exploit programme management efficiencies,
maximise useful learnings, and maximise replication
potential, the countries could be selected to form a
regional cluster – e.g. Kenya, Tanzania, and
Ethiopia or Brazil, Mexico and Chile. This could also
create a critical mass of addressable market
demand sufficient to attract new suppliers (both
domestic and international).
An assessment of the level of government support
and further research into the addressable market
(number and size of relevant industry sectors; fuels
expected to be displaced) should be carried out to
inform country selection – this is beyond the scope
of this project.
Delivery model
Whatever countries are chosen, our research
suggests that the core element should be the
creation of demonstration plants. This addresses
the critical confidence barrier and was most
commonly cited as the single most essential
intervention by technology suppliers (we did not
speak to potential customers, but would expect they
would also want to see evidence that it works, in the
form of demonstration or pilot projects).
A programme of demonstration activity should be
accompanied by awareness raising activity –
targeting potential customers, designers and
engineers, and the national government.
Substantial additional engagement and consultation
with key stakeholders and actors in the target
countries would need to be undertaken to better
understand the potential applications, key barriers,
and other relevant factors that would inform the
design of an intervention.
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 37
The following section describes two demonstration
programmes run by the Car bon Trust in the UK and
outlines some of the key lessons learnt. These
lessons could be relevant to the design of a
demonstration programme for small-scale CSP.
Lessons from Carbon Trust
demonstration programmes
The Carbon Trust has designed and run a number
of demonstration projects in the UK, for example the
Advanced Metering Field Trial, and the Micro-CHP
field trail. Brief details of these programmes are
provided below.
The Advanced Metering Field Trial ran from 2004
to 2006, and was the first trial of advanced metering
for the SME community in the UK, covering 582
111
sites . The objectives of the programme included
the following:
 Stimulate market demand by demonstrating that
advanced metering can reduce energy
consumption and costs;
 Identify the nature of advanced metering
services that yield the best savings;
 Develop case studies, highlighting the
advantages of advanced metering;
 Quantify the potential UK-wide carbon savings
attributable to advanced metering in the SME
community.
The Micro-CHP Accelerator ran from 2005 to 2008
and was the first large-scale, independent field trial
of micro-CHP (combined heat and power) systems
in domestic and small commercial applications in
the UK, together with a complementary field trial of
112
condensing boilers . It had the following
objectives:
 Install a range of Micro-CHP units in real
operating environments representative of the
likely UK installations; and to obtain robust,
independently monitored performance data;
 Assess the carbon performance of the Micro-
CHP units relative to alternative heating
technologies, in particular condensing boilers;
111
http://www.carbontrust.com/media/77244/ctc713_advanced_meteri
ng_for_smes.pdf
112
http://www.carbontrust.com/media/77260/ctc788_micro-
chp_accelerator.pdf
38 Carbon Trust
 Provide general insights to inform future
technology development and policy decisions
relating to Micro-CHP.
Based on our experience of running demonstration
programmes (including the two described above)
we have identified the following considerations and
lessons to take into account when designing
programmes:
 Define clear objectives. Demonstration projects
are designed to prove (or otherwise)
uncertainties around a system or
technology. From the outset it is important to
know what you are trying to prove and design the
project accordingly. For example this may be to
better understand the economics or energy yield
of a system in a particular environment, to create
a high profile project to demonstrate technical
feasibility, or to gather a robust and compelling
evidence base to inform policy change.
 Focus on overcoming one challenge at a
time, not taking on multiple challenges in
parallel. Though multiple challenges / barriers
can be overcome, it is generally more practical to
tackle these sequentially. For example if a
technology has not yet been shown to work in a
country, do not attempt to demonstrate a novel
technology at the same time, but focus on tried
and tested systems that have been proven
elsewhere.
 Scale the programme appropriately. Make
sure that there are sufficient installations to
isolate erroneous results. Doing this requires a
critical mass of common elements across a
number of demonstrations – for example, at least
three systems using the same technology in the
same application and environment at the same
scale. Demonstrating three installations of
different technologies in different applications at
different scales would make it challenging to
isolate any common problems. If there are 10 or
20 installations then different combinations of
technologies, applications and scales of
operation become possible. In other words,
consider carefully the number of installations and
match this to the number of variables.
 Consider the whole system. Care should be
taken to ensure that the entire technology
system is properly engineered. We have had
examples where local fitters or installers have
created issues in a demonstration project that
have not been related to the core technology
being evaluated, but have materially impacted
the results. It may be possible to include a
training element to help transfer best practice
from experienced technicians to a would-be
workforce.
 Seek to learn and continually evolve the
programme as new developments come to light.
Though a certain degree of analysis can be
carried out ex-ante to optimise the design of any
intervention, in the process of implementing the
intervention, lessons will be learnt that help to
refine the structure of future interventions.
 Stakeholder engagement and dissemination of
results in multiple, appropriate fora over the
course of the programme and beyond are
required for success. Without these there is a
risk of a small number of ‘white elephant’ projects
being installed that do not lead to further action.
For example our Industrial Energy Efficiency
Accelerator programme focuses on engagement
with trade associations in each sector to share
lessons learnt.
Meeting ICF criteria
An intervention focussed around a programme of
demonstration projects, with associated activity to
address other barriers, would meet a number of ICF
criteria:
 It would have high additionality if implemented
in any of the in-scope countries outside of India,
because there are currently no programmes
aimed at supporting the deployment of small-
scale CSP in industrial applications in these
countries. In any of the sub-Saharan countries,
this programme would likely lead to the very first
installations of these technologies in the country.
 It could be highly transformational because a
successful intervention could move a country
from having no deployment of these technologies
at all to being among the leading countries in
terms of deployed capacity / number of working
systems.
 It would leverage private sector investment by
encouraging industrial companies to invest in
renewable energy technologies (in the first
instance by matching their investment with grant
funding for demonstration projects).
 It would offer good value for money, especially
by sharing programme management costs and

best practice and project lessons across 3 similar
countries.
Supporting or expanding existing
programmes
In most of the in-scope countries we have not found
existing or planned programmes that could be
supported, expanded, or built upon using ICF funds.
As outlined above there are several very relevant
programmes in India, either current or planned.
These programmes are comprehensive packages
of activity designed to address the main barriers
and to support the National Solar Mission. In the
case of the UNDP project they are the product of in-
depth programme design activity and were
designed to fill all the critical gaps in the market
landscape as perceived at the time of design.
Given that there are other large programmes
planned for India (e.g. the UNIDO programme) we
do not feel that looking to expand these (already
large) programmes in India is the most sensible
option for the ICF in the short term. It may be that
there is an opportunity to expand or scale up these
interventions in the future, once the projects are
further underway.
There are other opportunities that could be built on
or expanded with ICF funding:
 The Climate Innovation Centre in Kenya is a
potential source of grant funding for local
suppliers to run demonstration projects. We have
not spoken to the Centre so do not have
information about the resources at their disposal
to finance these projects but additional funding
ring-fenced for CSP might enable them to scale
up this activity (and potentially attract new
suppliers – which would be well aligned with the
Centre’s mission).
 Climate Innovation Centres are also planned in a
number of other countries, including Ethiopia,
and once these are established they could have
specific streams of activity focussed on
stimulating small-scale CSP activity among the
local innovator community.
 The IEA’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme
Task 49 (described in Section 5) is a knowledge
sharing platform with involvement from a number
of developing countries (although the programme
is managed in the EU and most activity seems to
be take place within the EU). There are currently
participants from Mexico and India. Because the
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 39
programme has limited funding, participants
need their own funding to take part in the project.
Making funding available to relevant participants
from countries such as Kenya or Chile (or other
in-scope countries should they be the focus on
an ICF intervention) would enable them to share
in and benefit from the best practice and
knowledge being developed around the world.
Rural / off-grid applications are at
a far earlier stage of
development, calling for a
different type of intervention
 The main barrier / challenge for rural
applications is the lack of an optimised small-
scale CSP technology solution
 As a result CSP has been excluded from
previous energy access projects and there
are only a few pilot projects worldwide
 This issue could be addressed by a
competition and field trials to develop an
optimised technology solution and prove it in
real-world conditions
Market development
The market for small-scale CSP in rural or off-grid
applications is at a considerably earlier stage. We
found only one example of a pilot project in the in-
scope countries (the DST-Thermax CSP-biomass
hybrid project in India) and one in another
developing country (the TRESERT project in
Thailand).
However, unlike the industrial process heat market
for CSP technologies, where there are incumbent
technologies or alternative fuels serving the energy
needs of the market, there are hundreds of millions
of people in the in-scope countries who do not have
access to modern energy services, so potential
demand for the energy output of small-scale CSP
(and other technologies) is already a focus for
governments, NGOs and development
organisations.
As outlined in Section 4, a number of experts and
technology suppliers believe small-scale CSP has a
potential role to play in rural or off-grid settings.
40 Carbon Trust
Key barriers to address
The main challenge facing small-scale CSP in rural
or off-grid applications is that the technology has
not yet been optimised to work in these contexts.
Unlike industrial applications, where there are
numerous different providers of small-scale CSP
technology and around 100 installations across the
globe, the use of CSP in rural or off-grid situations
remains unproven.
As a result, the ‘market’ (non-governmental
organisations, Government, and development
agencies) does not consider CSP as a suitable
technology for rural applications, and it has been
excluded from the scope of the many rural energy
access projects (for example where PV, biogas,
micro-hydro have all been piloted) that have been
implemented in energy poor communities and
regions, probably because the technology lacks
track record and project designers and
implementers favour the lower risk approach of
focussing on ‘proven’ technologies.
Lack of an optimised technology solution is the
critical barrier obstructing progress in these
applications at the moment, but once addressed,
other barriers will become critical.
Availability of funding to finance renewable energy
projects is a major barrier for the energy poor
communities that could benefit from small-scale
CSP systems, and is likely to be a significant barrier
when / if the technology can be optimised and
113
proven.
Possible interventions
As outlined above, the main issue facing the
development of this market / application is the lack
of an optimised technology solution. This is best
addressed by working with innovators and
technology developers to refine and prove the
technology in the required contexts.
Due to the much earlier state of development of this
market, a number of interventions that are
appropriate in the industrial market are not suitable
at this time. These include capacity building,
provision of finance, capital grants or other forms of
subsidy, and standards and certification. These
interventions may all be appropriate as the rural
market develops and other barriers (such as the
113
Interview: Practical Action
lack of the necessary skills in the local community)
become more important.
Delivery model
A phased intervention could be used to optimise
small-scale CSP technologies for rural and off-grid
contexts.
The first phase would be to understand the potential
for CSP in this application. This would involve a
desk-based study to benchmark CSP against other
suitable technologies, looking at market state and
growth, industry analysis, technology performance
(and alignment with energy needs of target
communities), and timeframe for cost reduction.
This phase would include detailed study of the
existing pilot projects in India and Thailand.
If this first phase confirmed that CSP has potential
in these applications, a competition or challenge
could be run to encourage technology suppliers to
develop concepts for appropriate CSP technology
solutions. This would involve putting out a call
inviting suppliers to submit solutions against a
defined scope outlining the requirements (e.g.
eligible technology types, system capacity and cost
range).
A field trial would then be run installing the
successful project concepts in various situations to
assess their real world performance. The results of
these trials could be benchmarked against the
results from previous trials of alternative
technologies (e.g. PV, biogas, micro-hydro).
Engagement of key stakeholders – government
officials, NGOs, development partners, community
representatives – would be important throughout
the project to raise awareness and ensure buy-in
and confidence in the project results.
Such a project would transform the evidence base
for the potential of small-scale CSP in rural and off-
grid applications. A successful project with
encouraging results would lead to small-scale CSP
being included in the scope of future rural energy
projects, because it would no longer be seen as
unproven or inappropriate for these contexts.
A technology neutral competition or challenge, with
the same parameters (except the focus on CSP
technologies) could also be appropriate, except
there is a risk that the majority of applications would
be from other technologies. Such a challenge might
be less additional (we have not reviewed

technology neutral or non-CSP projects aimed at
addressing energy access issues).
Meeting ICF criteria
An intervention focussed on small-scale CSP in
rural or off-grid applications would meet several ICF
criteria:
 It would be extremely additional. While we have
identified two pilots of small-scale CSP for rural
contexts, we have not found any comprehensive
programmes focussed on this application. A new
programme
 It could have a transformational effect on the
seemingly widely held perception that CSP is not
suitable for small-scale off-grid applications. The
creation of a robust evidence base
demonstrating that small-scale rural CSP works
in real world conditions, based on a field trial,
accompanied by appropriate stakeholder
engagement and awareness raising, could
ensure that CSP is included in major rural energy
access programmes. Until that happens, it
seems unlikely that CSP will be seriously
considered as a viable solution for these
applications.
 Use of a challenge or competition to source
concepts from technology suppliers could deliver
good value for money and leverage private
sector investment in the development of
solutions to match the specifications of the
challenge.
Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 41
Supporting or expanding current
activity
We are only aware of the two rural small-scale CSP
projects described above (DST-Thermax in India
and TRESERT in Thailand). We have not spoken to
the implementers of either project and do not know
if there is an opportunity to support or expand these
projects.
We would expect both projects to offer significant
lessons to any new initiatives focussed on this area
and the technology suppliers involved – Thermax
(India) and Solarlite (Germany) – may be interested
in participating in a new competition based
intervention.
As increasing energy access for energy poor
communities is a global priority, there are many
programmes aimed at increasing the deployment of
appropriate technology solutions. As noted
elsewhere in this report, these projects do not
currently include CSP in their scope, probably
because the project implementers favour ‘tried-and-
tested’ technologies. It may be possible to use ICF
funding to expand the scope of one of these
projects to specifically include small-scale CSP.
This would mean that the CSP results could be
included in and compared to other results from the
project, and the programme management resources
of an existing programme could be leveraged rather
than replicated.
42 Carbon Trust

7 Annex A – case studies

Sopogy – MicroCSP Power Generation at Holaniku, Hawaii114

Developer Sopogy “Located at the Natural Energy Laboratories of Hawaii,

Holaniku at Keahole Point is the world's first
Location Holaniku, Hawaii Concentrating Solar Power project using MicroCSP
Date commissioned December 2009 technologies. Holaniku also incorporates thermal energy
storage which solves the volatility challenges typical to
Application Electricity generation
renewable energy technologies, such as wind and
Technology Parabolic trough photovoltaic systems.” -Sopogy
Installed capacity 2MW
Temperature range 93 – 176 oC
Estimated CO2 reduction 31 ktCO2 over life

Sopogy – MicroCSP Solar Cooling at Holcim cement plant, Mexico115

“Sopogy’s MicroCSP technology will be used to drive a Developer Sopogy

75 ton single-effect chiller and provide a renewable
source of cooling for the new Hermosillo cement plant, Location Hermosillo, Mexico
which was inaugurated on March 10, 2011. Date commissioned March 2011

As the first solar powered air-conditioning system in Application Cooling

Latin America, installation of the MicroCSP parabolic Technology Parabolic trough
troughs have been assembled and mounted on the roof
Industry Cement
and ground in front of the cement production facility.”
-Sopogy Installed capacity 291 kW
Temperature range 74 - 95 oC
Estimated CO2 reduction 3.45 ktCO2 over life

Sopogy – MicroCSP Solar Cooling at Masdar116

Developer Sopogy “Sopogy's proprietary solar thermal solution has been

designed to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and
Location Abu Dhabi, UAE
smaller collector footprint of high-temperature solar
Date commissioned July 2011 thermal cooling compared to a conventional electric
chiller plant powered by solar-generated electricity. The
Application Cooling
successful outcome of the project will enable solar
Technology Parabolic trough thermal air conditioning to be a major source of cooling
Installed capacity 130 kW for other buildings within Masdar City.” -Sopogy

Temperature range 133 – 171 oC

Estimated CO2 reduction 1.83 ktCO2 over life

114
http://sopogy.com/projects/index.php?id=39
115
http://sopogy.com/projects/index.php?id=56
116
http://sopogy.com/projects/index.php?id=40
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 43

Waltow Germany – heat for fish farming117

“At Woltow, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Solarlite Developer Solarlite
has developed and built a solar thermal energy pilot
plant in combination with a biomass plant. The plant Location Woltow, Germany
generates the heat required to provide a constant Date commissioned April 2007
temperature of 26 °C in the fish breeding tanks. The
African catfish needs this high water temperature for Application Process heat
successful breeding.” -Solarlite Technology Parabolic trough
Industry Fish farm
Installed capacity 220kW
Temperature range 250 oC max
118
Clique Solar – Chitale Dairy, India

Developer Clique Solar “The two-dish ARUN system generates steam which is
Location Sangli, India used for Pasteurization, Can Washing, Cleaning in
Place and Crate washing. Both these ARUN dishes are
Date commissioned October 2009119
installed on the terrace of its 3-storeyed building. The
Application Process heat footprint area is less than 3m x 3m per dish. The ARUN
dish tracks the sun on two axes. Water circulates
Technology Parabolic dish
through the receiver coil which is placed at the focus of
Industry Dairy dish transferring the thermal energy from the sun to the
Installed capacity 320 kW (2 dishes) circulating water and converting it to pressurized steam
at 152°C at 5 bar.” -Clique Solar
Temperature range 152 oC
Estimated CO2 reduction 110 – 130 tCO2 per annum
Fuel oil displaced 40,000 – 60,000 litres per
annum

Aora Israel – combination fuel solar tower120

“Located 34 km north of Eilat, Kibutz Samar is the site of Developer Aora

AORA’s first CSP prototype module, which has been in Location Samar, Israel
operation since 2009, injecting thousands of kW of
utility-grade power into the Israeli national power grid Application Heat and power
every year. This prototype unit has been the testing Technology Tower + hybrid fuels
ground and upgrading proof facility for this versatile
100kW micro plant design.” -Aora Installed capacity 100 kW th

Thermax India – cooling demonstrator121

Developer Thermax “In this innovative installation, for the first time in the
world, Thermax has integrated a triple effect chiller and
Location Solar Energy Centre
solar parabolic concentrators (collectors), both
Gurgaon, Haryana, India indigenously developed by the company. While
Date commissioned October 2009 conventional solar systems take up a large area for
limited cooling output, the Thermax project through in-
Application Cooling house R&D has achieved a significant space reduction
Installed capacity 100 kW of nearly 30% and a 20% increase in cooling efficiency.
This has brought down cost and moved the project
Temperature range 140 – 210 oC closer to commercialisation.” -Thermax

117
http://www.solarlite.de/en/project_woltow.cfm
118
http://www.cliquesolar.com/DairyIndustry.aspx
119
http://mnre.gov.in/file-manager/UserFiles/solar_steam_system_for_process_heat.pdf
120
http://aora-solar.com/active-sites/
121
http://www.thermaxindia.com/Packaged-Boilers/Thermax-Solar-Cooling-Center.aspx
44 Carbon Trust

8 Annex B – programme details

UNDP India122
 Project title: “Market Development and Promotion of Solar Concentrator based Process Heat Applications in
India (India CSH)”

 Duration

o Start date: August 2011

o End date: July 2016

 Project cost: USD 23.75m

 Expected results

o 32.9 ktCO2 saving over 5 year period;

o 315 ktCO2 saving over 20 year economic lifetime for supported projects, including replication

 Project components

o Technical capacity development

 Enhanced understanding of CSH (concentrated solar heating – project term for CSP used for
heat) technologies, applications and markets;

 Adoption of standards and specifications for guidance of manufacturers and users for assurance
of CSH quality, safety and performance;

 Testing laboratories for verification of manufacturer claims and guidance of CSH users to enable
informed decisions.

o Awareness enhancement and capacity building

 Strengthened technical capacity and awareness of stakeholders of CSH systems for industrial /
institutional process heat applications;

 CSH project activities facilitate and / or influence the widespread replication of CSH technology
applications in India.

o Pilot demonstration of CSH technologies for various applications

 Increased number of commercial and near-commercial CSH technologies for a diversity of

applications;

 Improved technical and economic performance of commercial and near-commercial CSH

technologies in an increased diversity of applications.

o Sustainable financial approach in the adoption of CSH technologies and applications in India

 Enhanced understanding of the financial viability of CSH technologies and measures to mitigate
investment risks;

122
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/market_development_and_promotion_of_solar_concentrators_based_project_document.pdf
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 45

 Promulgation of favourable financial policies that promote increased use and promotion of CSH
for low and medium temperature process heat applications.

 Key outputs

2
o 30 demonstration projects and 60 replication projects totalling to 45,000 m of solar collector area
directly supported by the project, installed and monitored during the 5-year project duration.

o 10 CSH technology application information packages developed, utilised and available for further CSH
market development support at the end of the project implementation period.

o Commercial availability of all 5 CSH solar concentrator technologies in the Indian market by end of
project. It is expected that about thirty technology package suppliers will be available to market CSH
technologies in India by end of project.

2 2
o Annual sales of CSH to increase from around 2,000 m /year in 2010 to 15,000 m /year in 2016.

o Demonstration projects (30):

 Will focus on industries with high potential for replication: dairy, hotels, hospitals, textile,
pharmaceutical, chemical, metal treatment, food processing, institutional cooking;

 USD2,000 is available from the project for a feasibility study, and USD8,000 available for
Detailed Project Report preparation;

 Technical training of 2 people per site is included;

 Include technical support through project execution;

 An additional 10% of project cost (up to USD 20,000) to cover cost of monitoring equipment
and other obligations – this is in addition to MNRE subsidy of 30%.

o Replication projects (60):

 USD 2,000 to fund project feasibility study;

 Technical training of 2 people per site;

 Up to USD 6,000 for monitoring equipment.

 Estimated replication: a factor of 3 – described as ‘conservative’.

46 Carbon Trust

UNIDO India123
 Project title: “Promoting business models for increasing penetration and scaling up of solar energy”

 Duration: 60 months (dates not yet confirmed as project is still at concept stage)

 Project cost: USD 21.8m

 Expected results: Direct global environmental benefits 84-98 ktCO2 over 20 year life of technologies.

 Project components:

o Strengthening of policy and institutional framework

 Detailed set of recommendations and guidelines for policy makers to catalyse deployment of solar
technology in industrial thermal and cooling applications.

o Technology investment and application

 Detailed technical specifications pertaining to technologies identified for deployment;

 Developed technology application information packages and characterised technologies,

applications;

 Pilot demonstration of solar technologies for various industrial applications – indicatively 15 – 25 in

number, across most promising industries.

o Scaling up of solar technologies in industrial applications

 Identified technologies most suitable for replication across target industries;

 Developed business models and financing facility, including non-grant instrument(s), for effective
scaling up of different technologies;

 Supply of quality system components for solar energy technologies secured through developing
standards, quality control, performance guidelines and a certification framework.

o Awareness raising and capacity building

 Trained manufacturers, vendors and installers;

 Targeted workshops to raise awareness among the business community;

 Institution of information sharing platform;

 Documentation of project outputs, case studies, best practices and lessons learnt disseminated to
ensure larger replication;

 Technical capacity building including through industry and academia.

 Estimated replication: 3 – 5 (described as conservative), resulting in emissions savings of 252 – 490 ktCO2.

123
http://www.thegef.org/gef/sites/thegef.org/files/gef_prj_docs/GEFProjectDocuments/Climate%20Change/India%20-%20(4788)%20-
%20Promoting%20Business%20Models%20for%20Increasing%20Penetrati/PIF%20India%20Solar%20v6.0_for%20re-
submission%20to%20GEF%205Jan12%20FINAL.pdf
 Small-Scale Concentrated Solar Power 47

UNIDO Malaysia124
 Project title: “GHG Emissions Reductions in Targeted Industrial Sub-Sectors Through EE and Application Of
Solar Thermal Systems”

 Duration: 60 months (dates not yet confirmed as project is still at concept stage)

 Project cost: USD 20m

 Project components:

o Development of regulatory framework, support programme and financial incentive mechanism to

facilitate solar thermal energy utilization

 Institutional capacity strengthened, including international experiences shared with government

stakeholders;

 Monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment of previous and existing policies, programmes
and also of this new project;

 Support programmes and mechanisms (e.g., financial incentives, non-grant instruments,

technical assistance, certification and financing schemes) developed and approved.

o Awareness raising and capacity building program relating to process optimization and solar
thermal energy utilization in targeted industrial sub-sectors

 Strengthened skills and competency of service providers, consultants and industry in the
implementation of energy saving based on process optimization and process heating and
cooling, in selected sub-sectors;

 Improved skills and competency of service providers, consultants and industry in solar thermal
technology;

 Enhanced awareness among industry management and financial institutions to take decisions on
investments in energy saving and solar thermal applications.

o Demonstration and scaling up of sector-specific energy efficiency and solar thermal energy
utilisation in targeted industrial subsectors

 Energy saving measures and investment projects implemented in 40 factories;

 Out of these 40 factories, at least 10 will implement solar thermal demo projects;

 Case studies prepared and presented to raise more investment in energy efficiency and solar
thermal integration using the new capacity and financing mechanisms.

124
http://www.thegef.org/gef/sites/thegef.org/files/gef_prj_docs/GEFProjectDocuments/Climate%20Change/Malaysia%20-%20(4878)%20-
%20GHG%20Emissions%20Reductions%20In%20Targeted%20Industrial%20Su/4-11-
12%20%20ID4878%20%20PIF%20GEF5%20on%20EE%20and%20Solar%20Energy%20Revised%20after%20GEFSec%20Comments%2010%
20Apr2012x.pdf
48 Carbon Trust

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